WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Baldwin Wallace University baseball team opened their spring break trip with a non-conference double header in the RussMatt Classic against St. John Fisher (N.Y.) College, at Polk State Stadium.
BW (2-2) notched nine runs off nine hits in game one as it plated two runs in the first, four runs in the second, two in the sixth and one in the ninth for the 9-1 victory. St. John Fisher (1-2) scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth.
The Yellow Jackets were led by sophomore infielder Alex Ludwick (Brunswick/Padua Franciscan) as he went three-for-four with two runs batted in and one run. Senior first basemen Philip Wells (Buffalo, N.Y./Saint Joseph's Collegiate) led the game with a career-high four RBI's with one hit. American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Mideast Region and All-Ohio Athletic Conference outfielder Dudley Taw (Sheffield Lake/Brookside) and senior catcher Asa Adams (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) each had two hits and one RBI while junior infielder Jacob Bonner (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) touched home three times.
Senior (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Mideast Region and All-Ohio Athletic Conference pitcher Danny Cody (Medina/Brecksville-Broadview Hts.) was the game one starter and earned his first win on the season with six innings, one run off two hits, and eight strikeouts. Freshman right-handed-pitcher Garrett Miller (McMurray) came in the final inning and struck out one batter and allowed zero runs.
In game two the Yellow Jackets scored five runs off eight hits. After falling behind 2-0 in the first, BW scored two in the second, one in the third, one in the fifth and sixth to seal the 5-2 victory. The pair of runs in the first were the only runs the Cardinals plated in game two.
BW was led by senior infielder Kyle Pennington (Wadsworth), senior two-time Academic All-OAC outfielder Reese Albright (Parma/North Royalton), and sophomore infielder Luke Razzante (Highland Heights/Mayfield) as each had two hits. Razzante and Pennington each scored a run as Albright scored twice, while Adams marked two RBI's.
Given the nod in game two was senior left-handed-pitcher Jack Raines (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) who went the full seven innings and allowed two runs off six hits and tallied a career-high nine strikeouts for his first win on the season.
The Yellow Jackets will be back in action on Monday, March 4 when they start the Snowbird Classic with a matchup against #14 nationally-ranked Misericordia (Pa.) University at 11:00 a.m.
