Oberlin, Ohio- The baseball team's return to the field this afternoon came on the road, as the team traveled to Oberlin College Yeomen in Oberlin, OH. The two teams played in a scheduled doubleheader.
The offense for the Mountaineers stalled until the top of the third inning. Trailing 3-0, Berea came into the inning looking to make a dent into the lead as Joshua Durbin opened from the plate with a single into center field. The next batter, Joshua Works, moved Durbin into scoring position with his single to left field, putting runners on first and second base. A stall in the offense occurred again as a double play and a runner being caught stealing ended the promising inning for the Mountaineers. A Ron Overstreet hit by pitch followed a Nicholas Bottom single in the top of the fourth inning as an opportunity for Berea to score to cut the deficit presented itself. The score remained 3-0 though as the next two batters recorded outs to end the inning.
The team entered the sixth inning trailing 12-0 and after an out occurred in the inning, Bottom reached base with a hit by pitch. The bases soon became loaded as Overstreet hit a single and Caleb Gupton was hit by a pitch with still only one out in the inning. Andrew Akins fielder's choice allowed Bottom to put the first run for the Mountaineers on the board as the score moved to 12-1. The offensive momentum did not continue for Berea as the home team went on to win by a final score of 12-1. Durbin led the team at the plate by going 2-3 while Bottom scored one run and Akins finished with a RBI. Matthew Wilburn (1-2) started on the mound for the Mountaineers.
A single to open the second game by Josh Wilson put a runner on first base for Berea. Wilson was left on base though as the next three batters recorded outs. After a hit in the second inning, William Hislope hit a single to try to break the Yeomen's advantage in the fifth inning. With two outs in the inning, Wilson came to the plate and smacked a ball to left field for a single, moving to Hislope into scoring position on second base. The inning ended with two runners left on base after the third out of the inning. The offense for the Mountaineers had a couple of more opportunities but could not capitalize on them as they went on to fall to Oberlin 17-0. Wilson led the way at the plate, finishing 3-4 in the batter's box. Hislope finished with two hits while Ryan Blevens, Durbin, and Blade Hampton each recorded a hit. Wilson (1-1) made his second appearance on the mound this season as the starting pitcher.
Berea (2-9) comes back to the Berea College Sports Complex on Friday as they host Transylvania University. First pitch between the visiting Pioneers and Mountaineers is slated for 5:00 PM.