Quakers lose late lead, game
to Hanover College, 8-7

Morris homers twice for WC

[Box Score]

April 4, 2006

Tom Harter

HANOVER, Ind. — Wilmington College saw a six-run lead go by the boards as the Quakers fell to Hanover, 8-7, in non-conference baseball action Tuesday.

The loss drops Wilmington to 5-7 for the spring. Hanover is now 12-7.

The Quakers got a solid pitching performance from Clayton Reynolds (Blanchester). The senior went 6.2 innings and left with a 7-3 lead and the bases loaded.

"We were cruising and Clayton was pitching a whale of a game," WC head coach Tony Haley said. "But they got six runs in the bottom of the seventh. We didn't make a play. We had a double-play ball we didn't turn, then we had a wild throw, then they got a little broken-bat hit and it's tied up."

Hanover scored the game-winner in the ninth on a fly ball hit over a drawn-in WC outfield.

At the plate, Wilmington continued to pound the ball. Matt Morris (Hamilton) ripped a pair of homers to pace Wilmington's 11-hit attack. Junior shortstop Greg Krieger (Bellefontaine) raised his team-leading batting average to .465 with three hits in five at-bats. Taylor Clark (Morrow/McCallie, Tenn.) and Ben Buehner (Germantown/Valley View) contributed two hits each.

"We were having our way with them — playing good defense, Clayton was throwing strikes and we're scoring every inning," Haley said. "Then we let our guard down in the seventh and the next thing you know they've got the tying run on base. We didn't play mentally tough for nine innings. It was something you'd have to see to believe."

Chris Lewis (Ostrander/Buckeye Valley) took the loss for Wilmington.

The Quakers will try to rebound against Wittenberg. The Tigers visit the WC campus Wednesday for a 4 p.m. nine-inning game.