UNIVERSITY CIRCLE, Ohio -- The Baldwin Wallace University baseball team lost to non-league and Cleveland cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University at Norby Stadium, 3-2. This was the second meeting between the Yellow Jackets and the Spartans this season.  In their first meeting on April 2 in Berea, BW defeated the then No. 21-ranked team, 6-1.

With its loss, BW fell to 19-13 overall. With its victory, CWRU is 28-8 overall.

In the top half of the first inning, the Yellow Jackets took an early 1-0 lead when senior third baseman Brad Gugliotta (Twinsburg) hit a triple to right field and was then brought home several batters later on a failed pickoff attempt and throwing error by the opposing pitcher.  

In the bottom half of the inning, CWRU scored and tied the game, 1-1, after freshman Antonio Damiano led off with a single up the middle and was then brought home by the next batter, senior Andrew Frey, with a double to left-center field.

In the second and third innings, neither team managed to tally a run.  In the fourth inning, however, BW regained the advantage, 2-1, when junior shortstop Eric Murphy (Brook Park/Midpark) was walked and then freshman second baseman Cole Nieto (Brunswick/St. Ignatius) doubled down the right field line.

The next three frames went scoreless, but in the eighth inning, the Spartans once again leveled the score, 2-2, when a double from junior Kerrigan Cain into right-center field brought home junior Andrew Gronski from second base.

After the Yellow Jackets failed to break the tie in the top half of the ninth inning, the Spartans' Cain hit a walk-off double to right field to bring home junior Will Meador from second base to secure the win.

At the plate, the Yellow Jackets were led by Gugliotta, Nieto and sophomore second baseman and right-handed pitcher Mark Zimmerman (Akron/Green) each with two hits on four at-bats.  Also, Gugliotta and Murphy each scored a run for the BW offense.

On the mound, Zimmerman received his first start of his career for BW.  He pitched five innings and gave up one earned run on four hits, five strikeouts and a walk.  In relief, freshman right-hander Logan Heffernan (Lebanon) provided three innings of work and gave up one earned run on four hits, four strikeouts and no walks.  Following Heffernan, sophomore right-handed pitcher Matt Wittels (Lyndhurst/Brush) was credited with the loss after he came in to pitch the final one-third of an inning and gave up one earned run on a hit and a walk.  He is now 1-1 on the season.

BW is back in action on Saturday, April 26 when the Yellow Jackets travel to New Concord, Ohio and play an OAC doubleheader against Muskingum University at 1:00 p.m.

FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bwyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.