Quakers swept
in OAC opener

WC drops two at Marietta

[Game 1 Box Score]

[Game 2 Box Score]

April 1 , 2006

Taylor Clark

MARIETTA — Wilmington College opened the Ohio Athletic Conference baseball season Saturday by dropping a doubleheader at Marietta. The Pioneers (13-5, 2-0 OAC) handed Wilmington (5-6, 0-2) a 10-4 setback in game one, then took the second game, 7-4.

"Marietta is tough — they swing the bat," WC head coach Tony Haley said. "They scored in 10 of the 12 innings they batted."

Marietta built a 5-0 lead in game one before Wilmington got run-scoring doubles from Greg Krieger (Bellefontaine) and Mike Cafarella (Beavercreek) to pull within 5-3 in the fifth. Marietta, though, responded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 10-3 lead to seal the win.

Kenny Branscom (Chillicothe) pitched 4.1 innings and took the loss for Wilmington. Clayton Reynolds (Blanchester) and Matt Meyer (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) closed out in relief.

Game two provided more than one loss. Wilmington ace Jamison George (Mount Sterling/Miami Trace) left the game after he was struck on his pitching elbow by a line drive in the fourth inning. At the time, Wilmington trailed 4-2.

Taylor Clark (Morrow/McCallie, Tenn.) had a monster game with two doubles and a pair of singles in four at-bats. The junior centerfielder was 4-for-7 in the twinbill as Wilmington battled the powerhouse Pioneers.

"To look on the bright side, we have gotten one of the best teams out of the way first," Haley said. "But it also puts us in a hole that we're going to have to climb out of. We're going to have to sweep somebody at home, then split somewhere on the road. But we've done it before."

Krieger had three hits in the two games and Mike Kroeger (Cincinnati/Elder), Jimmy Wolverton (London/'Madison Plains) and Ben Buehner (Germantown/Valley View) had two hits each. Buehner led-off both games with doubles.

"Our guys played the whole game. We didn't quit," Haley said. "For us to get in Marietta's class, we have to play the whole game, and they did. We outhit them the second game, but we didn't take advantage of our two-out hits like they did."