Baseball gets 4-3 win as part of home doubleheader split with Albion (Mich.)

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — The Ohio Northern baseball team split a doubleheader against Albion (Mich.) on Monday, winning the first game 4-3 in seven innings before falling 7-5 in Game 2 at Wander Field.

The Polar Bears (4-8 overall) and Britons (5-8 overall) were playing a doubleheader for the second straight day Monday after splitting a pair of games on Sunday in Albion.

Senior Chayten Overholt (Delphos/Lincolnview) and junior Jacob Wenning (Coldwater) paced ONU offensively in the Game 1 win.

Overholt tallied a double and three RBIs, and Wenning added three hits, including two doubles, along with an RBI.

Northern opened the scoring in Game 1 with a first-inning run via a single from Wenning.

Albion tied the score in the top of the third inning, but ONU responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame on an Overholt double to regain a 3-1 edge.

The Britons once again tied the score after plating two fourth-inning runs, but the Polar Bears answered with what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth.

Junior Nate Webb (Bath, Ind./Union County) drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a double from Wenning before scoring on an Overholt groundout.

Pitching in relief of senior starter Tom Pitko (Youngstown/Austintown-Finch), freshman Joe Tootle (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) threw a pair of shutout innings to earn the victory before giving way to freshman Blake Peterson (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan), who threw a clean seventh inning to pick up his second save of the season.

Northern finished the game having out-hit Albion by an 8-6 margin.

The Britons out-hit the Polar Bears 11-10 in what was another tight battle in Game 2.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Northern plated runs via a triple from freshman Sam Sells (Columbus/Olentangy Orange) and a single from senior Corey McMann (Flower Mound, Tex./Liberty Christian) to take the lead.

The Polar Bears made it a 3-1 lead on a third-inning double from Webb before AC put together a three-run fifth frame to go up 4-3.

Each team scored a run in the sixth, and Albion added two more in the seventh for a 7-4 edge.

Webb, Wenning and Overholt led off the bottom of the eighth with three straight singles, the last of which cut the deficit to 7-5. But the Polar Bears were unable to pull any closer.

Freshman Kyle Lawrence (Valparaiso, Ind.) got the pitching start for ONU in the game and struck out five over six innings.

Webb finished with a team-high three hits, including two doubles, in the game, while Overholt had a team-leading two RBIs.

The Polar Bears return to action on Thursday as they host Alma (Mich.) at Wander Field at 4 p.m.