By: Amanda Phillips
BEREA, Ohio- Senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference shortstop Alex Ludwick (Brunswick/Padua Franciscan) belted six in hits, including two homeruns, as the Baldwin Wallace University baseball team opened OAC play with a pair of wins against Wilmington College at home on Saturday afternoon.
BW (3-3, 2-0 OAC) started the day off in thrilling fashion as sophomore designated hitter Luke Vonderhaar (New Bremen) hit the game-winning walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Yellow Jackets the 3-2 winner in game one. A back-and-forth battle in game two, with two homeruns from Ludwick, eventually fell in favor of Baldwin late in the eighth inning.
The Jackets struggled to create offense in the opening innings of game one, but a 2RBI double from Vonderhaar in the bottom of the third gave BW a 2-1 lead over the Wilmington (1-5, 0-2 OAC). Baldwin Wallace's offense struggled over the next six innings, accounting for only five hits. In the top of the ninth inning, the Quakers evened up the score 3-3 scoring off a wild pitch. With BW unable to find any momentum in the bottom of the ninth, the teams headed into extra innings. Vonderhaar came to the plate with one out and knock a base hit to to left field which brought Tanner Conklin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) home to win the game for the Yellow Jackets.
For the pitching staff, sophomore right hander Dawson Gabe (Lawrence, Ind) got the start and pitched five innings recording eight strikeouts and allowing only three hits. Junior righty Maxwell Cebulak (Oakmont, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) came in for relief for 3.2 innings notching four K's before sophomore right hander Ethan Boyko (North Royalton) pitched the final 1.1 innings tallying three strikeouts and no hits and earning the win for BW.
Wilmington's hitters came out strong to open game two, earning four runs in the first two innings to go 4-2 ahead of BW. In the fourth inning though, Ludwick hit a homer to right center to take a two-run lead over the Quakers. His hitting momentum continued on his next at bat in the fifth inning when he launched a ball to right field bringing home both senior left fielder Jacob Bonner (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) and sophomore third baseman Chris Viamonte (Naples, Fla./Lely) to take an 8-4 lead. Ludwick tallied another RBI in the seventh inning on a triple before sophomore catcher Andrew Parker (Toledo/Toledo Central Catholic) and sophomore right fielder Vincent Capolupo (Kenmore, N.Y.) scored the final runs the eighth.
Starting on the mound for the Yellow Jackets in the second game was junior righty Drew Wilson (Sagamore Hills/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy), pitching for four innings and earned a pair of strikeouts. Boyko came in for the next two innings and allowed just a pair of hits while also earning the win for the Jackets. Coming in to close for BW was junior right hander Garret McLeod (Medina) who pitched the final three innings and gave up no hits or runs.
BW travels to Wilmington tomorrow, Sunday, March 21 for the back half of their home-and-home series with the Quakers. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. with the second game scheduled for 4 p.m.
