DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team hosted Otterbein at Littick Field on Tuesday for the first game of a two-game non-conference series. The Battling Bishops rallied for nine runs over the course of their last three innings to take a 13-7 victory.
OWU improves to 11-16 on the season while Otterbein drops to 5-22.
The Cardinals struck first with a three-run home run in the top of the first, but the Bishops bit back with two in the bottom of the opening inning. It started with
Holden Tomlin singling through the right side and advancing to second on a throwing error. Next,
Luke Johnson singled on a bunt to the pitcher and advanced to third on a throwing error while Tomlin scored. Finally,
Zane Vitense brought Johnson home on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Otterbein tallied another run in the top of the third before the Red and Black tied the contest with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. First,
Alex Snyder walked and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt. He came around to score when the next batter, Vitense, reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. Vitense himself scored from second on an ensuing double to left center by
Nik Hilton, making it 4-4.
Otterbein broke the tie by pulling back ahead in the top of the fifth with two runs to make it 6-4. Ohio Wesleyan finally nabbed the lead in the bottom of the sixth, pushing four runs across. Hilton and
Michael Malone started the inning with singles, followed by a hit-by-pitch for
Nate Colyer to load the bases.
Colton Moone promptly unloaded the bases with a pinch-hit double to left center, scoring three. Moone then scored on a single through the right side by Tomlin.
In the end, that sixth inning was the difference maker as the Cardinals only came up with one more run in the remainder of the game. However, the Battling Bishops tacked on five more for good measure in the bottom of the eight, taking the final score to 13-7. Malone,
Josh Bercaw, and Tomlin all earned free passes on a walk and two hit-by-pitches to load the bases. Johnson then singled to the pitcher and advanced to second on a throwing error, ultimately scoring Bercaw and Malone. Snyder sent one over the fence in the next at-bat to bring in the remaining three runs.
THE NUMBERS
Parker Tomlin (W, 5-2) pitched the first seven innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and two walks while recording two strikeouts.
Marcus Suwinski (S, 4) pitched the final two innings, securing an at-the-time two-run lead for the save, allowing one earned run on two hits with no walks.
Alex Snyder led the offense with three RBIs on a 1-for-3 afternoon that included a homer. He also scored two runs on the basepaths.
Colton Moone was 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance, driving in three on a double and scoring one himself.
Luke Johnson hit 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Overall, he reached in 4-of-5 plate appearances with two walks.
Holden Tomlin went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Nik Hilton hit 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
Zane Vitense tallied an RBI and a run scored.
Michael Malone went 1-for-2, also reaching on a walk and scoring two runs.
Nate Colyer and
Josh Bercaw both scored a run.
UP NEXT
The Battling Bishops head to Otterbein for game two of the series tomorrow, starting at 4 p.m.
