MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 18 nationally-ranked and third-seeded Baldwin Wallace University baseball team faced the No. 2 nationally-ranked and top-seeded Marietta College for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship on Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer Park.
The Yellow Jackets (32-11) fell to the Pioneers (38-5) by a 16-6 final score after the Pioneers got out to a hot start, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the first. BW had four athletes selected to the OAC All-Tournament Team, including junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC Luke Vonderhaar (New Bremen), junior Academic All-OAC second baseman Ryan Guggenheim (Solon), junior Academic All-OAC centerfielder Vincent Capolupo (Kenmore, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate), and junior right-handed pitcher Dawson Gabe (Lawrence, Ind.)
BW was led by Vonderhaar (New Bremen) as he hit 2-4 with two RBIs and a double. With his two RBIs on the day, he becomes the BW RBI Single Season Record holder with 62. Vonderhaar surpassed the previous record of 60 RBIs, set by Alex Marcum in the 2018 season.
Capolupo hit 2-4 on the day with two runs, two RBIs, and a triple. Junior left fielder Andrew Parker (Toledo/Toledo Central Catholic) batted 3-4 on the day with a run.
Scoring Plays
- BW got on the board first on a sacrifice fly ball by senior All-OAC outfielder Drew Wilson (Sagamore Hills/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) to score Capolupo in the top of the first inning
- Marietta came to the bottom of the inning scoring nine runs on nine hits and no errors (9-1 Pioneers)
- The Pioneers scored one in the second on an RBI double
- In the bottom of the third, Marietta tallied three runs on five hits (13-1)
- BW scored four runs in the fifth, highlighted by an RBI groundout by freshman third baseman Sean Kolenich (Parma/St. Edward), an RBI single by Capolupo, and a two-run double by Vonderhaar for the record-breaking two RBIs (13-5 Pioneers)
- Marietta was held to one run in the bottom of the fifth
- In the bottom of the sixth, the Pioneers earned two runs on RBI singles (16-5)
- A triple by Capolupo in the top of the ninth earned a run for the Yellow Jackets, but the Pioneers went on to claim the 16-6 championship victory
On the Mound
- Junior ight hander Aidan Bennett (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) started on the mound and Scott Kirchhoff (Sylvania/Sylania Northview) also pitched in the first inning, as they faced a combined 11 batters
- Junior right hander Matt Sabin (Mentor) completed the first inning
- Senior right hander Clay Anderson (Broadview Heights/Trinity) threw for two innings, allowing four runs on seven hits
- Senior right hander Maxwell Cebulak (Oakmont, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) pitched two innings, allowing just on run on one hit
- Senior right hander Steve Spidell (Mount Eaton/Waynedale) pitched the start of the bottom of the sixth
- Junior right hander Garrett Miller (McMurray, Pa.) threw the last 2.2 innings, posting five strikeouts, allowing no runs on just one hit
BW finished the regular season with an overall record of 30-9. After the OAC Tournament weekend, the Yellow Jackets move to 32-11 and will await a potential at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Championships.
