Wilmington drops 12-7 decision
to top-ranked Wooster

Buehner hits grand slam for WC

[Box Score]

March 17, 2006

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Wilmington College closed out its spring break in Florida with a 12-7 loss to The College of Wooster Friday afternoon. Wilmington head coach Tony Haley said the game illustrated why Wooster was the preseason No. 1 team in the nation and why the Quakers will be a team that should not be overlooked this spring.

Ben Butler

"Wooster just hit the ball hard," Haley said. "They are deserving of their ranking. We got the Florida schedule back in January and our guys knew right away that we were playing Wooster, and they've been looking forward to this game ever since. We played pretty well. I was real proud of the team. We never quit. We kept playing for nine innings."

Wooster (6-1) scored four runs off Wilmington starter Jamison George (Mount Sterling/Miami Trace) in the second inning and pushed seven runs across in the fourth against Ronnie Campbell (Lynchburg/Lynchburg-Clay). Nick Borgmann (Milford) surrendered a solo homer that put the Scots up 12-0 after five innings.

Down a dozen, the Quakers refused to board the Ohio-bound bus early. Wilmington scored two runs in the sixth, then hung five on the board in the seventh, an inning capped by a Ben Buehner (Germantown/Valley View) grand slam. For Buehner, it was the second home run in as many days. For the Quakers, a 12-run deficit had been reduced to five.

Buehner's shot, however, was the final offensive fireworks of the day. Borgmann and Chris Lewis held the Scots scoreless in the seventh and eighth frames, but Wilmington could not cut into the Wooster lead.

In addition to Buehner's blast, Wilmington got two-hit performances from catcher Ben Butler (Beavercreek/Carroll), DH Matt Morris (Hamilton), second baseman Jimmy Wolverton (London/Madison Plains) and centerfielder Taylor Clark (Morrow/McCallie, Tenn.).

The Quakers will bring a 4-4 record home to Ohio. Better usage of leather, Haley said, would have produced a better spring break slate for his team.

"Our pitchers pitched well enough to win six games but our defense let us down," Haley said. "After the game we got real close together and I told them that when we get back to Ohio, this team is going to be tough. We played some really good teams down here. Our record this week really doesn't reflect how good a team I think we are going to be."