By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24
BEREA, Ohio - The No. 9 nationally ranked and top-seeded Baldwin Wallace University baseball team exited the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament after a loss to third-seeded Ohio Northern University by a final score of 5-3 in 11 innings on Fisher Field.
BW (31-10) was led by senior infielder Alexis Castillo (Sunrise, Fla./The Sagemont School) who went 2-for-4 at the plate. The Yellow Jackets were limited to five hits on the afternoon.
ONU (27-14) was led by senior right-handed pitcher Jack Hutchins, who picked up the win after throwing six and two-thirds scoreless innings in relief. Hutchins allowed two hits and struck out six for the Polar Bears.
Scoring Plays
- Castillo scored on a wild pitch to open the scoring in the fourth inning.
- Later in the inning, freshman infielder Matt Terzola (Uniontown/Archbishop Hoban) grounded into an RBI fielder choice to give BW a 2-0 lead.
- After being held scoreless for six innings, the Polar Bears got on the board and took the lead on one swing, a three-run home run by freshman infielder Chase Armstrong.
- BW battled back in the bottom half of the seventh, capitalizing on an ONU error to tie the game at three.
- The Polar Bears retook the lead with two runs in the 11th inning after back-to-back bases-loaded walks, before shutting the door on the Yellow Jackets in the bottom half.
On the Mound
- Senior right-handed pitcher Garrett Miller (McMurray, Pa.) got the start and went seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out eight.
- Senior Academic All-OAC left-handed pitcher Nik Baldis (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) went three and one-third innings in relief and took the loss after surrendering two runs on three hits.
- Senior right-handed pitcher Aidan Bennett (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) relieved Baldis in the 11th inning and went a third of an inning, allowing no runs and two walks.
- Senior right-handed pitcher Garret McLeod (Medina) threw a third of an inning to close out the 11th.
BW will await news of a likely at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season with an overall record of 31-9 and a 15-3 mark in OAC play, winning the OAC regular season title before dropping two games at the OAC tournament.
