Ohio Wesleyan 10, Wooster 6

May 11, 2007

Junior outfielder Joey McDaniel (Dublin/Scioto) had 3 hits and drove in 2 runs in support of junior righthander Xander Jones (Pomfret, Conn./Pomfret School) as the Bishops raced to a 7-1 lead and held off a Wooster rally to win Game 2 of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship series on Friday at Denison University in Granville.

The teams return to action at 3:45 p.m. on Friday in Game 3 of the series, with the winner taking the NCAC championship and the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Ohio Wesleyan jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as McDaniel led off with a single, took third on a perfect hit-and-run single by junior first baseman A.J. Dote (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior second baseman Kyle Sherman (Plain City/Dublin Scioto).

The Bishops added 2 runs in the third as Dote and Sherman opened the inning with singles and moved up on a sacrifice by sophomore shortstop Logan Hronis (Rocky River/St. Edward). Senior outfielder Sean Ring (Hilliard/Davidson) followed with a chopper to Wooster third baseman Dan Skulina, who misplayed it for an error, with both runners scoring on the play.

Wooster got on the scoreboard in the fourth on a double by Sheldon Steiner and a single by Oliver Enos.

Ohio Wesleyan answered in the top of the fifth, plating 2 runs. Sherman led off with a double and moved to third on an infield out by Hronis. Ring then laid down a squeeze bunt, and Wooster pitcher Anthony Trapuzzano flipped the ball home too late to get Sherman. Wooster catcher Brandon Boesinger then fired to first to try to get Ring, but his throw sailed down the first base line, with Ring heading to third on the play. Ring would score on a wild pitch for a 5-1 Bishop lead.

The Bishops added another run in the sixth on a single by junior second baseman Jerrell Johnson (Shaker Heights) and a triple by McDaniel, and tacked on a run in the eighth when freshman catcher Steve Ruygrok (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek) was hit by a pitch and came around to score on singles by junior outfielder Brent Wilkins (Fairview Park/Fairview) and McDaniel for a 7-1 Ohio Wesleyan lead.

Wooster rallied in the bottom of the eighth when Pat Christensen led off with a walk and Enos and John Quimby followed with RBI doubles to chase Jones. Freshman righthander Tyler Smith (Bryan) came on and retired the next 2 Scot batters, but Justin Thomas coaxed a walk and Sean Karpen followed with an RBI single to make it 7-4. Freshman righthander Matthew Struble (Defiance/Edon) relieved Smith, and after walking Shaun Swearingen, retired Steiner to end the inning.

Ohio Wesleyan added some insurance runs in the top of the ninth on an RBI double by Hronis and a 2-run double by Wilkins, stretching the lead to 10-4.

Struble struck out Dean Palombaro and Enos to open the bottom of the ninth, but Wooster rallied with a walk to Quimby, an RBI double by Skulina, a walk to Boesiger and an RBI single by Stu Beath before Struble struck out Karpen to end the game.

McDaniel was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI to lead the Ohio Wesleyan offense. Sherman was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored, Dote had 2 hits and Wilkins was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Jones worked 7-plus innings, allowing 9 hits and 4 earned runs. He struck out 5 and walked 3 in collecting his second win of the NCAC tournament. Struble was credited with his first collegiate save.

Box Score

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