BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University baseball team had a perfect 8-0 record in Port Charlotte, Florida. It was the best-ever start by a Yellow Jacket baseball team and highlighted a very successful spring break by our spring sport teams.
In Port Charlotte, BW beat Moravian (Pa.), a team that it had beaten at last spring’s NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional en route to its first-ever trip to the Division III World Series. Strong hitting and pitching and good defense fueled the start. BW outscored its opposition, 63-32, batted .348 and had a solid, 3.50 earned run average and .959 fielding average as a team.
Leading the way at the plate were junior two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference second baseman and pitcher Mark Zimmerman (Akron/Green), senior All-OAC shortstop Eric Murphy (Brook Park/Midpark) and senior All-American first baseman Kyle Chontos (Pickerington/North). Zimmerman batted a team-high .429 and scored 12 runs with five doubles, two triples, one home run and 14 runs batted-in. Murphy hit .419 with three doubles, a triple and nine RBI. Chontos, who is on pace to break virtually every Yellow Jacket career hitting mark, batted .387 with three doubles, a triple, four RBI and two stolen bases.
On the mound, senior staff ace and All-OAC pitcher Cory Waite (Willoughby/South), Zimmerman, junior Alex Albright (North Royalton) and reliever Brandon Cichocki (Walled Lake, Mich./Central) had good trips. Waite, who made his school-record 55th and 56th career appearances, did not allow a run in 14 innings pitched and had a 2-0 record. Zimmerman pitched nine and two-thirds innings and did not allow a run and was 1-0. Albright was 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA and tied Zimmerman for the most strikeouts with 12. Cichocki made three appearances and had a save, the 11th of his career to tie Jon Tenley’s ‘13 school-record.
The men’s tennis team is 8-1 and had a 4-1 mark on its spring trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Despite not starting a senior on the trip, veteran Head Coach Brian Rector ‘89 and his team continues to win. Highlighting the trip was the play of sophomore Kevin Fredrick (Archbold) and junior All-OAC players Peter Harris (Akron) and Doug Ganim (Westerville).
Fredrick had a 5-0 singles and 5-0 doubles record. He plays fifth singles and combines with fellow sophomore Brian Carano (Akron/Revere) at third doubles. Harris was 3-2 at No.1 singles and moved up to 17th on BW’s all-time win list at 55-13 in his career. Ganim was 5-0 on the trip and is tied for 23rd all-time at 52-13 overall. As a No.1 doubles tandem, Harris and Ganim mark the third straight season that they played every match together and have combined for a 54-17 career mark to rank 24th all-time.
The women’s tennis team also joined the men at Hilton Head. Veteran Head Coach Jack Bethlenfalvy is hoping to lead his team to its fifth OAC title and NCAA tourney berth in the last nine years. Junior Mackenzie Donalson (Hilliard) tops the team with a 6-6 record.
Senior All-OAC standout Adam Sanders (Fairview Park/Fairview) highlighted the men’s golf trip to Phoenix, Arizona by shooting an 80 on the very difficult par-72 and 7,216-yard Moon Valley Country Club layout to place third individually at the Arizona Christian Spring Triangular. A year ago, Sanders was the medalist of the OAC Tournament and led BW to its first-ever OAC Tournament title and NCAA Division III Tournament berth.
The women’s golf team did not travel south this spring. It will be led by junior All-OAC player Laura Vidmar (Willoughby/South). A year ago, she helped the women win a third OAC title and earn a third NCAA national tourney berth in the last four seasons.
The softball team compiled a 5-7 slate, including a 5-5 mark against Division III opponents at the Tucson Invitational Games. Freshman outfielder Alicia Hack (Pickerington/North) led the way and batted .391 and scored 11 runs. Sophomore Erica Morgan (Brook Park/Midpark) was the top pitcher with a 2-3 mark and a 2.15 ERA. Morgan recorded her first two career shutouts and had a career-best 10 strikeouts in the team's final game.
The men’s lacrosse team did not go south, but posted a perfect 3-0 record in Berea by outscoring its foes, 38-8. Junior All-OAC attack Vinny Carson (Cleveland/Benedictine) led the way with five goals and five assists, and sophomores Tanner Roberts (Murraysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and Joey Briski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pine-Richland) each had five goals. The defense was led by freshman goalie Mike DiZonno (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson), who allowed just six goals in more than 148 minutes of playing time.
The women’s lacrosse team travelled to Bradenton, Florida and split a pair of games. The Yellow Jackets, who advanced to the OAC Championship Game a year ago, were led on offense by freshman Caitlin Wheeler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) with six goals and All-OAC midfielder Katie Kocher (Rocky River) had a team-high four assists. A year ago, Kocher set a school-record for assists in a season. In goal, sophomore Amanda Getto (Medina) had six saves.
The men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams travelled to Florida to train for the week and then participated at the annual Coastal Carolina Invitational in Conway, South Carolina. The top performance was by senior Division III All-American decathlete Brandon Eddy (Cuyahoga Heights) who high jumped 6’6”.