Baseball wins season opener 7-1 over Carthage (Wis.) on first day of Derby City Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ohio Northern kicked off its 2026 baseball season with a 7-1 victory over Carthage (Wis.) at the Derby City Classic on Saturday. 

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (1-0), Carthage (Wis.) (1-1 Overall).
• Venue: Derby Field - Louisville, Ky.

The Game

• The Polar Bears struck first in the top half of the third inning when Kyler Lapp (Hall, Ill.) singled through the left side to drive in senior Robbie Reed (Goshen, Ky./Trinity) and junior Kyle Callahan (Brunswick).
• In the fifth Callahan stole home to make it 3-0 for Ohio Northern
• Carthage answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the fifth when Michael Ossenfort scored on a passed ball.
• Reed knocked a single in the sixth inning to score Sammy Roush thanks to a throwing error by the defense to push the lead back to 4-1. 
• Freshman Carson Stevens (Wyoming) launched a 2-run homer to grow the lead even more in the top of the ninth inning. 
• Junior Evan Russ (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) kept things rolling in the 9th with a ground ball that led to a throwing error allowing senior Chase Armstrong (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) to score making it 7-1. 
• Senior Aslyn Farinelli (Crown Point, Ind.) earned the win on the hill for Ohio Northern throwing 7 innings while only allowing a single unearned run and securing 6 K's in the process. 
• Benjamin Best (Findlay) closed out the game for Northern throwing the last 2.0 innings and not allowing a run either. 

Notables

• Reed and Stevens led the way for the ONU offense with Reed going 2-3 at the plate and knocking in an RBI as well as scoring 2 runs. Stevens went 2-4 including a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th. 
• Ohio Northern now leads the all-time series with Carthage (Wis.) 1-0 with this matchup marking the two teams first meeting.
• Armstrong is 5th all-time in home runs, 6th in RBI's and double, and 8th in walks, and 10th in slugging percentage. With totals of 24 homers, 111 RBI's, 36 doubles, 80 walks, and a .555 slugging percent. 
• Armstrong and senior Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay) are both members of the 100-hit club, tied with 121 hits. Also joining them is Reed with 116 and Lapp with 102. 
• Ohio Northern is beginning its 121st season of baseball. The Polar Bears are 1494-1163-20 all-time, a winning percentage of .558.
• 15th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte is now 306-216 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .585.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will conclude play in the Derby City Classic on Sunday at 11 am vs Kalamazoo (Mich.) and then again at 2:30 against tournament host Spalding (Ky.)