Baseball: Bluffton (15-15 Overall) at Ohio Northern (15-13 Overall)
Wednesday, April 17, 2019, 4:30 p.m. — Wander Field, Ada, Ohio
Wednesday's Preview: The Ohio Northern baseball program ends a brief three-game home stint Wednesday afternoon with a single, nonconference affair against area-rival Bluffton at Wander Field ... Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. in Ada ... ONU enters play with a 15-13 overall record and a five-game win streak ... The Polar Bears are coming off a critical 7-4, 8-3 series sweep against Ohio Athletic Conference foe Otterbein on Tuesday ... Sophomore Matthew Burkett and freshman Corey McMann each supplied three hits and three RBI to help propel the Polar Bear offense ... On the mound, senior Jackson Buda picked up the win in game one after conceding just one hit in 5.1 relief innings .... Meanwhile, junior pitcher Josh Mohr allowed just two earned runs in 6.0 innings to record the win in game two ... Through 28 games, sophomore Michael Rocco leads the Polar Bears and sits third in the OAC with a .408 batting average ... He also leads the team with 8 stolen bases, is second with 18 runs scored, and ranks third with 18 RBI ... Senior Luke Klinehoffer tops the team with 41 hits and 24 runs scored on a .342 batting average ... He ranks second in school history with 44 career doubles, just two off the program record, and is tied for third with 175 career hits ... Klinehoffer and senior Caleb Thomas are tied atop the team with 19 RBI ... On the mound, junior Jack Schaller leads the pitching staff with a 4-1 record ... Klinehoffer, Mohr, senior Blake Lester, and juniors Troy Wagner and Nate Bye each have two victories ... Bye also leads the team with 31 strikeouts this season ... The Beavers enter the nonconference matchup owning a 15-15 overall record ... BU dropped 11-5 and 10-3 decisions to Anderson (Ind.) at home yesterday ... Sophomore Jaxon Rogan currently paces the Bluffton offense with a .341 batting average ... Meanwhile, senior Colin Gregory leads the team with 30 RBI, nine home runs, 11 doubles, and 35 total hits this season ... On the mound, senior Dante D'Andrea tops the team with five wins, three saves, and a 2.27 ERA ... Junior hurler Cam Clark bests the team with 36 strikeouts and owns a 2-3 overall record in a team-high 38 innings.
Ohio Northern Batting Leaders:
| Batting Ave. | Hits | Runs | RBIs | |||||||||||
| 1. | Rocco | .408 | 1. | Klinehoffer | 41 | 1. | Klinehoffer | 24 | 1. | Thomas | 19 | |||
| 2. | Burkett | .359 | 2. | Rocco | 40 | 2. | P.Buckingham | 22 | Klinehoffer | 19 | ||||
| 3. | Klinehoffer | .342 | 3. | Thomas | 33 | 3. | Rocco | 18 | 3. | Rocco | 18 | |||
| Burkett | 33 |
Ohio Northern Pitching Leaders:
| Wins | ERA (Min. 15 Inn.) | Strikeouts | Saves | |||||||||||
| 1. | Schaller | 4 | 1. | Buda | 1.47 | 1. | Bye | 31 | 1. | Wagner | 1 | |||
| 2. | Wagner | 2 | 2. | Schaller | 2.05 | 2. | Mohr | 22 | Johnson | 1 | ||||
| Klinehoffer | 2 | 3. | Fisher | 3.43 | 3. | Lester | 15 | Mohr | 1 | |||||
| Lester | 2 | Wagner | 15 | Buda | 1 | |||||||||
| Bye | 2 | Fisher | 1 | |||||||||||
| Mohr | 2 |
All-Time Series Notes: Ohio Northern leads the all-time series 77-35 over the Beavers ... The Polar Bears have won the last seven meetings, including a 10-7 victory last Thursday at Bluffton.
ONU Head Coach Gene Stechschulte: Stechschulte is in his eighth season leading the Ohio Northern baseball program with a 174-128 record, a .576 win percentage.