Carr, Gotz pitch No. 22 Baseball to double header sweep at Kalamazoo (Mich.)

By Tim Glon

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Junior Devin Carr and freshman D.J. Gotz had solid pitching outings to lead No. 22-ranked Ohio Northern to a 11-2, 2-0 double header baseball sweep at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Thursday afternoon at Woodworth Field.

The Polar Bears improve to 26-8 overall, while the Hornets fall to 19-13.

Carr (4-2) allowed five hits and no earned runs in 6.0 innings of work to get the win in Game 1.

In Game 2, Gotz (1-0) threw a 4-hit shutout through 6.0 innings and freshman John Kopicky picked up his first career save with an exciting scoreless seventh inning.

In the opener, the Polar Bears scored five times in the top of the first and got five more in the top of the second to take a 10-0 lead.

Junior Nick Eltzroth went 3-for-4 with a triple and 3 RBI, freshman Dan McMullen was 3-for-3 with 2 runs scored and freshman Jordan Bostater was 2-for-4 with 4 RBI to lead the ONU offense.

In the nightcap, junior Clay Small walked and scored on a ground out by senior Jack LaMarca in the third inning to give ONU a 1-0 lead.

Bostater singled home senior Dan Belliveau with an unearned insurance run in the fourth to put the Polar Bears ahead 2-0.

Gotz only allowed only one runner past second base in six innings and turned the ball over to Kopicky in the bottom of the seventh.

The Hornets got a single and two walks to lead the bases with two out, but Kopicky got a gound out to get out of the jam and end the game in thrilling fashion.

Eltzroth finished the day 3-for-7 and now has 98 career base hits. He is just two hits away from becoming the away 58th member of ONU's 100-Hit Club and is just one strikeout away from becoming the 24th member of ONU's 100-K Club on the mound.

The Polar Bears will return home on Saturday for a key Ohio Athletic Conference double header with Capital at 1 pm at Wander Field.