Posted: Apr 01, 2015
BEREA, Ohio -- Junior right-hander Brandon Cichocki (Walled Lake, Mich./ Central) set a BW career record for pitching saves as the 16th-ranked (March 29 D3baseball.com Division III national poll) Baldwin Wallace University baseball team defeated Cleveland cross-town and non-league rival Case Western Reserve University, 4-3, at Heritage Field to sweep the season series from the Spartans. It was the second straight day that BW (13-4) and CWRU (8-9) have met. Yesterday in University Circle, BW won, 14-8.
Cichocki enterted the game in the top of the ninth and held the lead for his 12th career save to break the previous mark by Jon Tenley (2009-2013). He gained the save but not without some drama. Cichocki walked the leadoff hitter. He was sacrificed to second base. After a strikeout for the second out, the runner stole third as he walked his second batter of the inning. He aso struck out the last batter and the catcher had to throw to first for the putout to end the game.
BW gained a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC left fielder Zach Ferster (Olmsted Falls) led off with a bunt single and moved to second base on a single by sophomore second baseman Cole Nieto (Brunswick/ Cleveland St. Ignatius). After Ferster and Nieto pulled off a double steal of third and second base, respectively, Ferster scored on a ground out by senior Division III All-American first baseman Kyle Chontos (Pickerington/ North).
CWRU scored twice in the top of the fifth and added another run in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. BW tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth. After one out, two-time All-OAC infielder/ pitcher Mark Zimmerman (Akron/ Green) singled and came home when his high school teammate, junior All-OAC designated hitter Hunter Handel (Akron/ Green) blasted his first home run this season and the fifth of his career.
BW scored the winning run in the eighth when Chontos walked wth one out, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on an error.
At the plate, five Yellow Jackets each had a hit, including Handel who also had both RBI.
Cichocki enterted the game in the top of the ninth and held the lead for his 12th career save to break the previous mark by Jon Tenley (2009-2013). He gained the save but not without some drama. Cichocki walked the leadoff hitter. He was sacrificed to second base. After a strikeout for the second out, the runner stole third as he walked his second batter of the inning. He aso struck out the last batter and the catcher had to throw to first for the putout to end the game.
BW gained a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC left fielder Zach Ferster (Olmsted Falls) led off with a bunt single and moved to second base on a single by sophomore second baseman Cole Nieto (Brunswick/ Cleveland St. Ignatius). After Ferster and Nieto pulled off a double steal of third and second base, respectively, Ferster scored on a ground out by senior Division III All-American first baseman Kyle Chontos (Pickerington/ North).
CWRU scored twice in the top of the fifth and added another run in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. BW tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth. After one out, two-time All-OAC infielder/ pitcher Mark Zimmerman (Akron/ Green) singled and came home when his high school teammate, junior All-OAC designated hitter Hunter Handel (Akron/ Green) blasted his first home run this season and the fifth of his career.
BW scored the winning run in the eighth when Chontos walked wth one out, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on an error.
At the plate, five Yellow Jackets each had a hit, including Handel who also had both RBI.
On the mound, junior right-hander Connor Murphy (Westford, Mass./ Northeast) pitched the first five and one-third innings, allowed seven hits, three runs (one earned), struck out three CWRU batters and walked two others. He was followed to the mound in the sixth inning by junior OF/P Jerry Scholle (Medina/ Highland) who got the final two outs.
Junior righty Alex Albright (North Royalton) pitched the seventh, allowed one base hit, no runs and struck out a Spartan. Sophomore All-Mid-Atlatic Region righty Logan Heffernan (Lebanon) pitched a scoreless eighth and struck out two and walked one. He gained the victory to improve to 2-0 this season.That set the stage for Cichocki to set the BW career save record.
The Yellow Jackets return to action on Friday, April 3 when BW travels to Westerville to play an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader versus Otterbein University at 1 p.m.
Junior righty Alex Albright (North Royalton) pitched the seventh, allowed one base hit, no runs and struck out a Spartan. Sophomore All-Mid-Atlatic Region righty Logan Heffernan (Lebanon) pitched a scoreless eighth and struck out two and walked one. He gained the victory to improve to 2-0 this season.That set the stage for Cichocki to set the BW career save record.
The Yellow Jackets return to action on Friday, April 3 when BW travels to Westerville to play an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader versus Otterbein University at 1 p.m.
