No. 7 Scots to Play Case at Progressive Field, Then Host ‘Berg, Hiram

Pat Christensen

The College of Wooster, ranked No. 7 in the latest D3baseball.com top-25 weekly poll, will play a game in a Major League Baseball stadium for what is believed to be the first time in school history, highlighting the Fighting Scots’ action for this week. On Tuesday, April 22, the Fighting Scots will take on Case Western Reserve University (10-23-1) at the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field. Following a series of ceremonies, opening pitch is scheduled for noon. Wooster cruised past the Spartans, coached by Wooster alum Matt Englander ‘02, in a pair of games last season by scores of 17-0 and 9-1. The Scots will be right back in action Wednesday, April 23, when they welcome Mideast regional power Heidelberg College (25-7), also coached by a Wooster alum in Matt Palm ‘95, to Art Murray Field for a 4 p.m. match-up. The two already met once this year, with the Scots edging the ‘Berg 5-2 during the spring break trip. In addition, Wooster will wrap up its North Coast Athletic Conference East Division schedule with a make-up doubleheader against Hiram College (7-16, 3-9 NCAC East) at home on Sunday, April 27, at 1 p.m. The Scots have already clinched their eighth-straight divisional title as well as home-field advantage for one of the NCAC Tournament semifinal series next weekend.

Last Week: Wooster won the three games it played, improving to 29-5 overall and to 13-1 in the NCAC East.

On April 17, Mark Miller (Convoy, Ohio / Crestview) tied the conference’s single-season saves record, holding off Muskingum College during the ninth inning to help the Scots prevail 4-2 in a match-up at New Concord, Ohio. Miller now has 12 saves, equaling the 1993 mark of Allegheny College’s Dean Peterson. He still has a ways to go to challenge the NCAA Div. III national record, which stands at 19 by Mike Spavento of Wheaton (Mass.) College, accomplished in 2002. Wooster notched single runs in the top of the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Jake Sankal (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) delivered a two-out double, which plated Dan Skulina (Hinckley, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit), who had reached via an infield single earlier in the second, while during the third, Stu Beath (St. Louis, Mo. / Avon Old Farms – Conn.) singled and eventually scored an unearned run. Muskingum answered with one tally in the bottom of the third and it remained 2-1 until Matt Groezinger (Upper Arlington, Ohio / Upper Arlington) stroked a leadoff home run in the sixth. Groezinger would help the Scots extend their lead to 4-1 in the eighth, as he singled with one out and eventually came home on an error during a failed pickoff attempt. In the ninth, Miller ran into some trouble, despite not allowing a ball to get out of the infield. Two infield hits put Muskingum runners on the corners with two outs before Miller closed it out via a strikeout. Wooster used six pitchers, with Justin McDowell (Willard, Ohio / Willard) earning the win. The freshman right-hander threw scoreless fourth and fifth innings, giving up two hits and striking out two without a walk, to improve to 3-0. Offensively, Beath, Groezinger, and Sankal each had two-hit games. Sankal’s were both doubles.

On April 19, the Scots pounded out 31 hits over just 12 innings worth of at bats, sweeping Hiram College 16-5 and 9-3 during an NCAC East Division match-up at Art Murray Field. The offensive onslaught was led by Pat Christensen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore), as he combined to go 5-for-7 with two doubles, two home runs, and five RBI. During game one, Wooster spotted Hiram a 3-0 lead, but came back to tie it in the bottom of the first on a Sankal leadoff homer and a Christensen two-run blast. The Terriers managed to take back the lead in the second (4-3), however, the Scots would plate four in the bottom of the third. That frame began with a walk and then the next five hitters all singled, with Skulina bringing in one, Shane Swearingen (Hilliard, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) driving in two, and Bubba O’Donnell (Cincinnati, Ohio / St. Xavier) plating another. A second two-run blast by Christensen – the 34th home run of his career – came during the fourth inning to make it a 9-5 game and Wooster tacked on a five-spot in the fifth, highlighted by Skulina’s bases-clearing double, and two more in the sixth. On the mound, Adam Samson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) overcame a rough start to pick up the win (5-1). He only gave up three hits, but five walks helped lead to three earned runs over his four innings of work. Both offenses got off to good starts in the nightcap as well. Hiram had a leadoff homer, but the Scots again answered, this time punching three across in the bottom of the first on a Groezinger dinger. The Terriers tied it up 3-3 in their next at bat, only to see Wooster explode for four runs in its half of the second inning. Sankal, Karpen, and Skulina all had RBI doubles during that frame, helping the Scots to a 7-3 cushion. The only other scoring would come in the fourth, when a Christensen ground-rule double resulted in one run, and was followed by Skulina singling in Christensen. Similar to Samson’s outing, Anthony Trapuzzano (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canevin Catholic) struggled early, but settled down to earn the victory (7-1). The three runs he gave up came on six hits and a pair of walks, compared to nine strikeouts. Nearly matching Christensen’s big day, Groezinger was 5-for-7 at the plate with the one double, the one homer, and five RBI, while Sankal went 4-for-8 with two RBI and Skulina went 4-for-6 with six RBI.