Wilmington College uses offensive outburst to split with Ohio Northern

WILMINGTON (April 23, 2003) -- The Wilmington College Quakers split a double header with the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears on Wednesday afternoon, losing the first game 5-3 and winning the second in a scoring frenzy, 18-11.

In the first game the Quakers and Polar Bears found them selves tied at two after four innings before the Polar Bears scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning to give the game it's deciding margin. Both teams scored once in the sixth, but it was not enough, as the Green and White were downed 5-3.

Three players, Aaron Lawson (Hebron/Lakewood), Ben Buehner (Germantown/Valley View) and Brent Bird (Columbus/Hilliard Darby) were 2-for-3 in the game while Buehner and Bird knocked in a run each. Luke Ogden (Peebles/Peebles) pitched five innings in the losing effort, striking out two and allowing five earned runs.

In the second game the hosts found themselves down 6-0 after two-and-a-half innings, and responded with eight runs in the bottom of the third. The Quakers didn't look back the rest of the way, and scored a season-best 18 runs in a seven-run victory.

Seven different Quaker batters had two ore more hits in the game with Lawson leading the way with three hits in five at bats. 10 different Quaker batters scored in the game as Lawson and Buehner each knocked in three in the contest. Dusty Mack (Batavia/Glen Este) picked up the win for the Quakers, improving his record to 4-2 on the season in pitching an inning. Derek Wellington (Chillicothe/Chillicothe) picked up the save, pitching one-and-one-third scoreless innings for the Quakers.

With the split the Quakers' record goes to 21-11-1 on the season and 6-6 in the OAC while Ohio Northern goes to 16-16 on the year and 4-8 in conference action.

The 21 victories ties this squad for the fourth most wins in a season by a Quaker baseball team, behind 1989's 22 wins, 1986's 27 wins and 1988's 28 victories.

The next game for the Green and White is on Saturday April 26 when the team travels to Berea, Ohio to face off against conference opponent Baldwin-Wallace College with the first pitch slated for 1:00 p.m.