Quakers split with John Carroll

WILMINGTON (April 12, 2003) -- The Wilmington College Quakers split a double header with OAC opponent John Carroll University on Saturday. The team won the first game 6-2 before dropping the second 9-7. Brent Bird (Columbus/Hilliard Darby) led the way for the Quakers, batting 6-for-7 on the day with a pair of home runn, two doubles and seven runs batted in.

The first game started as a pitchers dual, with WC's Derek Wellington (Chillicothe/Chillicothe) and JCU's Luke Adkins pitching three innings of scoreless baseball. The Blue Streaks got the first runs of the game off of a two-run home run, before the Quakers fought back and scored a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Green and White trailed by one going into the bottom of the sixth inning before the hosts scored five runs, highlighted by Birds grand slam, giving the hosts the commanding four-run advantage. Wellington then shut the door on John Carroll, not allowing another run the rest of the way.

Bird was 2-for-3 from the plate with five RBI's while each of the team's other five hits came from five different batters, as all six of the team's runs came from six different Quakers. Wellington picked up his sixth win of the season, improving his record to 6-0 overall.

In the afternoon finale, the hosts found themselves in a 6-0 hole after an inning and a half, before the team started to claw their way back. The team scored a single run in the bottom of the second before scoring four in the third, cutting the deficit to one at 6-5. The Green and White tied the game at six in the fourth inning before the visitors from Cleveland took the lead back with a run in the fifth inning, and then added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. WC's rally in the bottom of the seventh inning fell short, as the team was only able to scratch out a single run in the inning.

Bird was a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and a single in the game, while Lawson and Jimmy Wolverton (London/Madison Plains) were each 2-for-3 in the contest. John Elsen (Fairfield/Fairfield) picked up his third loss of the season, dropping his record to 2-3 on the year while striking out three in the game.

The split brings the Quakers record to 17-7-1 on the season and 3-3 in the OAC while John Carroll goes to 13-9-1 and 3-3 in OAC play.

The next game for the Green and White is on Sunday, April 13 when the team hosts former HCAC foe Franklin College with the first pitch set for 2:00 p.m.