Wilmington, FDU-Florham
split doubleheader

Buehner rips homer, double in WC win

[Game 1 Box Score]

[Game 2 Box Score]

March 16, 2006

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A seventh-inning nightmare prevented Wilmington College from a doubleheader sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Thursday.

The Quakers won the opener, 6-2, but fell victim to a five-run uprising in the Devils' final at-bat in game two and dropped an 8-7 decision. The split leaves Wilmington at 4-3 on the spring. The Quakers close out their Florida trip Friday with pre-season No. 1 Wooster providing the opposition.

Ben Buehner

In Thursday's opener, Kenny Branscom (Chillicothe) pitched 6.1 innings to pick up the win. The sophomore allowed two runs, six hits and struck out five. Jamison George (Mount Sterling/Miami Trace) pitched the final .2 to earn his fourth save of the season.

Senior third baseman Ben Buehner (Germantown/Valley View), who was moved to the leadoff spot for the first time this spring, ripped a double and a three-run homer that capped Wilmington's five-run fifth inning. George, Mike Kroeger (Cincinnati/Elder), Jimmy Wolverton (London/Madison Plains) and Taylor Clark (Morrow/McCallie, Tenn.) all had hits for the Quakers.

"We made the same move with Ben last year," WC head coach Tony Haley said. "I thought he would see better pitches leading off. Coming into the game, he was two-for-16. I told him we were moving him to leadoff and he responded well."

The opener, which Haley called his team's best overall performance of the season, was played in just 1:25.

Game two started with a green and white explosion. In the top of the first, Greg Krieger (Bellefontaine) and Mike Cafarella (Beavercreek) ripped one-out singles, then walks to Kroeger, Wolverton and Joe Schmetzer (Cincinnati/LaSalle) set up a two-run single from Clark that gave WC a 4-0 lead.

Wilmington starter Clayton Reynolds (Blanchester) went three innings and left the game with a two-run lead. Cafarella doubled in a run and scored on Kroeger's single as Wilmington stretched its advantage to 7-3 in the fourth.

Matt Meyer (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) silenced the Devils for three innings as the Quakers took what appeared to be a safe 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

"We scored four runs early today and we were pretty excited about it," Haley said. "We had a game down here earlier where we missed some opportunities to score early and it cost us. Really, we were coasting through 13 innings today. We were pitching well, playing good defense, getting clutch hits. Then the wheels fell off."

Meyer walked the first two batters in the seventh. George came on in relief and got an out on a fielder's choice. A walk, hit batter and two singles later, and FDU had tied the game at 7-7. Two more walks forced home the game-winner.

"Things happen. I told them we will learn from this experience," Haley said. "Jamison just didn't have it. Everybody on the team knows he's the man. Everybody in the OAC knows that he's probably the best closer in the league. There's nothing more to say. It's baseball."