Wilmington College took three of four games this weekend from John Carroll University and head coach Tony Vittorio earned his 700th career coaching win.
On Sunday, the Quakers split games with the Blue Streaks, winning 11-10 in 10 innings and losing 15-5 at Tewksbury-Delaney Field.
In game one, the Blue Streaks scored a single run on two hits, thanks in part to two stolen bases, in each of the first three innings. The Quakers countered with an unearned run in the second that was scored by Joe Legin, who reached base via a bunt single.
Trailing 3-1, Wilmington starter GlenAllen Anderson settled in, retiring JCU in order in the middle innings. During that time, the Quakers began to chip into the deficit. A two-out double from Jared Lammert scoring Corbin Craft gave the hosts a run in the fourth, and three hits by pitch alongside a heads-up tag up from Tyler Shaneyfelt on an infield pop out tied the game 3-3. An inning later, the Quakers took their first lead of the game. A walk and two more hit batters loaded the bases and Jesse Reliford cleared them with a double to right center.
Wilmington’s lead didn’t last long, however, as JCU struck for six runs on six hits with one Quaker error to flip the three-run deficit to a three-run lead. The Quakers tied it with a second consecutive three-run inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Lammert and RBI-singles from Shaneyfelt and Owen Baumann.
Two scoreless innings followed, but JCU broke a 9-9 tie in the top of the 10th. Sam Heaton led off the inning with a single through the right side, and after Bennett Cavaretta executed a sacrifice bunt, Joe Olsavsky doubled to right center to give the Blue Streaks a 10-9 lead. Thomas Hueber, who relieved Anderson in the seventh, didn’t allow any more damage has a flyout and strikeout ended the inning.
The Quakers duplicated JCU’s 10th in the beginning of the bottom half of the inning as Shaneyfelt walked, Baumann executed a sacrifice bunt and Reliford drove a low pitch into center field to tie the game. A single from Scott and a hit by pitch followed to load the bases and put the winning run 90 feet away. JCU brought its infield in with just one out, and Legin walked off with a single passed the outstretched arm of Olsavksy at second base.
Hueber earned his first win of the season, pitching four innings of relief work and allowed two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Jack Bennett took the loss for JCU allowing three earned runs in 3.1 innings of work. The Blue Streak pitching staff hit eight Quakers.
Offensively, the top three of Wilmington’s lineup accounting for seven hits. Shaneyfelt finished 2-for-3 with a stolen base, an RBI and three runs scored while Reliford turned in a 3-for-4 performance with a double and four RBIs. Baumann and Legin also had multi-hit contests for the Quakers.
Olsavksy led JCU in defeat with a 4-for-5 performance with three runs driven in and two runs scored.
In the nightcap, the hosts got on the board with two runs in the first thanks in part of an RBI-double from Reliford. The Blue Streaks, determined to not be swept in the series, answered with a three-run second inning. JCU’s offense would continue to press, scoring four in the fourth, one in the fifth and putting the game away with a seven-run seventh inning.
Aaron Boster, the Quakers’ starter, took the loss allowing seven earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched. John Gavric, who relieved JCU starter Matthew Aukerman, was the most effective pitcher for both sides and earned the win. Gavric allowed a single hit in 3.1 innings with four strikeouts.
The bottom of the Blue Streak order did the most damage as Jacob Connery and Michael Anderson both had three hits and drove in multiple runs. Owenn Baumann and Scott had multi-hit games for the Quakers.
Wilmington (7-19, 6-16 OAC) will face the University of Mount Union in a four-game series this weekend.
On Saturday, Luke Chappie and Kaleb Stines earned complete-game victories to lead the Wilmington College baseball team to a doubleheader sweep.
The Fightin’ Quakers won game one 3-1, giving Head Coach Tony Vittorio his 700th career collegiate win, and won the nightcap 17-4 in eight innings. The wins marked the program’s first road sweep of an OAC opponent since the season finale at Ohio Northern University in 2018.
“The 700 wins means simply that I am getting old ,” Vittorio chuckled. “More importantly, I have surrounded myself around the right players and assistant coaches.”
Game one was a pitcher’s duel pitting Wilmington’s Luke Chappie against JCU’s Mitchell Midea. Both pitchers didn’t allow a runner to third base in the first two innings, but both squads got a runner 90 feet from scoring in the third. Both were with two outs, and unfortunately for the visitors, they couldn’t capitalize and Owen Baumann grounded out to end the frame. The hosts did, however as doubles from Henry Haracz and Joe Olsavksy broke the scoreless deadlock.
Down 1-0, Chappie settled in, retiring the Blue Streaks in order over the next three innings. His offense rewarded the sophomore in the seventh as Luke Kleindl drew a walk and advanced to third on a double from Joe Legin. An Evan Kelsey RBI-groundout tied the game, and Jared Lammert scored Legin with a two-out single through the left side. JCU got runners to second and third in the bottom of the inning, but a groundout ended the inning.
Wilmington would add an insurance run on another Lammert RBI-single in the top of the ninth and Chappie once again stranded a runner at third, this time with only one out, thanks to a lineout and a pop out.
Chappie won his second game of the year in complete-game fashion, scattering six hits and three walks with four strikeouts over nine innings. Midea, despite a dozen strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched, dipped to an even 3-3 with the loss. Offensively, Lammert and Reliford had multi-hit games for Wilmingotn while Haracz was the lone Blue Streak to have two hits.
In the nightcap, the Quakers’ bats got going early, both hitting and putting pressure that paid off against the Blue Streak defense. In the first inning, Wilmington plated five runs on two hits, a Legin RBI-single and an RBI-double from Corbin Craft) and two JCU errors. The Blue Streaks got one run back in the bottom of the inning, but Kelsey would push the visitors back up 6-1 scoring Kleindl with a single in the third.
Wilmington would together another large inning in the fourth. Sparked in part by a two-RBI-double from Kleindl the Quakers scored six runs on three hits and two more Blue Streak errors to take control. The visitors would put the game away early with a four-run eighth inning.
For his second consecutive start, Stines earned a complete-game win with nine strikeouts and just two earned runs. Five JCU pitchers threw in the game with starter Nicholas Michel taking the loss.
Eight of the nine Wilmington starters got in the hit column with Kleindl and Craft leading the way with three hits each. Kleindl had two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored while Craft drove in three runs. Caleb Scott left the ballpark with a home run in the sixth. For JCU, five Blue Streaks had one hit with Sam Heaton’s hit being a double.
“Back-to-back complete games from [Luke] Chappie and [Kaleb] Stines was exactly what our program needed today,” said Vittorio. “I am really proud of both of those guys giving us what we have been asking out of our pitching staff. They both competed well today.”
Wilmington and JCU will play two games to finish their series at Tewksbury-Delaney Field tomorrow (Sunday) beginning at 1 p.m. .
