The Wilmington College baseball team split a doubleheader with Franklin College Sunday, falling 9-8 in game one and taking game two 18-9.
In game one, Wilmington, which has trailed for the majority of its season thus far, didn’t waste any time getting the bats going as Antonio Miller doubled to left field in the first at bat of the game, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the first run on a sacrifice fly from Nick Silvis. Back-to-back doubles from Gage Bley and Luke Kleindl followed and put the Quakers up 2-0.
Wilmington went up 4-0 in the second on RBI singles from both Miller and Silvis. After Franklin made it 4-3, WC went up 6-3 as Miller scored on a wild pitch and Aaron Burns knocked in a run with a groundout.
After Franklin went jup 9-6, WC scored two in the ninth as Casey Bottorff and Jake Hyatt singled home teammates.
Adam Doerger took the loss for Wilmington.
Kleindl finished 4-for-5 for Wilmington while Miller went 3-for-4 with four runs scored.
In game two, Kleindl continues his torrid hitting day with a two-RBI single in the first inning, but Franklin had struck for four runs on five hits in the first inning, chasing Quaker starter Michael Weisenberger after one inning. The Grizzlies added another run in the second to lead 5-2.
Wilmington answered with a seven-hit inning that scored eight runs to lead 10-5 after three innings. The Quakers would not surrender that lead as the visitors scored in each of the next four innings to earn the win.
Jared Ferenchak improved to 1-1 on the season allowing four earned runs in six innings in relief on the mound.
Wilmington tallied 19 hits as a team including a four from Mason Walker, who hit a two-run home run. Bottorff and Hyatt finished 3-for-6 while Silvis, Bley and Kleindl had two hits each.
The Quakers (3-11) open Ohio Athletic Conference play against Muskingum University Saturday.
On Saturday, March 16, Wilmington was defeated by Franklin 7-5 at Tewksbury-Delaney Field in game one of a weekend series.
Franklin, the defending Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions, scored a run in the first and used two Fightin’ Quaker errors and three hits to score three unearned runs in the third.
Ferenchak pitched around an error in the fourth, but the Grizzlies tagged the senior for two runs on two hits in the fifth. The visitors tacked on another in the sixth and led 7-0 after six complete.
Cameron Harbert got out of the top of the seventh by inducing a double play which seemed to spark the Wilmington offense in the bottom half of the inning. After a strikeout, a Hyatt single and a Bottorff double put runners in scoring position. Mason Walker was hit by a pitch and Joe Legin drew a bases-loaded walk that sent home the Quakers’ first run. An Antonio Miller sacrifice fly scored another run, and Nick Silvis delivered a two-RBI single up the middle making it 7-4 after seven complete.
Wilmington rallied in the ninth but fell short. Miller singled home Bottorff to get WC within 7-5 but a game-ending double play dashed the Quakers rally.
Jarett Trautman dipped to 0-4 with the loss despite allowing just one earned run in four innings. Harbert, who pitched in relief, struck out five and allowed one run in 3.1 innings pitched as Wilmington’s most effective pitcher. shed 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Wilmington while Miller and Silvis both had two hits with two RBIs.
