Baseball splits doubleheader at Wilmington with a 9-6 loss and a 9-8 victory

WILMINGTON — Ohio Northern split a baseball doubleheader with Wilmington in two offensive slugfests, winning the nightcap 9-8 after dropping the opener 9-6 on Wednesday.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (24-9 Overall, 9-3 OAC), Wilmington (4-27 Overall, 1-11 OAC).
• Venue: Tewksbury-Delaney - Wilmington, Ohio.

Game 1 - L, 6-9

• Sophomore Ace Cocklin (Cincinnati/Walnut Hills) blasted a 3-run home run in the 2nd to put ONU up 3-2
• Junior Evan Russ (Westfield, Ind.) and fifth-year senior Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay) each hit RBIs in the third to grow the Northern lead to 5-2.
• The Quakers responded by 7 unanswered runs to take a 9-5 lead in the seventh.
• The Polar Bears managed to get one more in the eighth, but wouldn't get any closer.
• Wilmington out-hit Ohio Northern 11-10

Game 2 - W, 9-8

• Jnnior Kyle Callahan (Brunswick) hit an RBI double in the top of the ninth and then Stechschulte scored on a passed ball to push the Polar Bears to victory.
• Wilmington drew first blood early in Game Two, but the Polar Bear offense responded with 2 homers in the fourth from Stechschulte and freshman Tyler Rinehart (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville). 
• Senior Chase Armstrong (Lousiville, Ky./Trinity) and Russ each hit RBI singles in the fifth to push the lead to 5-2.
• A 2-run homer from WC in the bottom of the fifth kept it 5-4 game.
• The Quakers tied the game in the sixth and then took the lead back in the seventh.
• Cocklin picked up his 3rd RBI of the day on a double in the eighth to tie the game. He eventually scored on a passed ball to give ONU the lead 7-6.
• The lead didn't last long as Wilmington tied the game with 2 outs in the bottom half of the eighth
• Sophomore Aslyn Farinelli (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) picked up the win as he pitched the final 1.1 innings and was able to work his way out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth.

Notables

• Cocklin led the Ohio Northern offense at the plate going 3-8 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
• Russ was 4-9 on the day with 2 RBI.
• Ohio Northern now leads the all-time series with Wilmington 41-27
• Through 33 games this season, Lapp leads the Polar Bears in batting with a .355 average and is tied for second on the team with 27 RBI.
• Armstrong is ONU's all-time leader in home runs with 29. He is also second all-time in ONU history in walks (101), is 3rd in RBIs (139), is fourth in doubles (42) and is fourth in runs scored (129).
• Stechschulte (166), Reed (150), Armstrong (148), Lapp (141), and Russ (116) are all members of ONU's 100-Hit Club. 
• Stechschulte is also fifth in ONU history with 41 career doubles and is now 10th with 108 RBI.
• Ohio Northern is in its 121st season of baseball. The Polar Bears are 1519-1178-20 all-time, a winning percentage of .562.
• 15th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte is now 331-229 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .589.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will be back on the road on Saturday to face #13 Baldwin Wallace at 1 pm.