(WILMINGTON, Ohio) – The Wilmington College baseball team split their doubleheader with the Capital University Comets Tuesday afternoon at home, losing game one 3-1 before grabbing game two 6-4. The Quakers now hold a 7-11 overall record this season and 2-4 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
Game One – Capital defeats Wilmington, 3-1
The first game was a pitcher's duel between the Quakers
Trent Mendenhall and the Comets William Furry. Both teams grabbed a run in the first inning and then neither team scored again until the top of the seventh.
Wilmington's run came on just their second batter of the game.
J.C. Calhoun doubled down the left field line to start it off before
JP Donelan poked one into right field to tie the game at 1-1.
The Quakers had a good shot to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of singles after the inning opened with an out put a runner in scoring position.
Avery Battle then roped one off Furry's leg on the mound, but he did a great job of recovering and saving the inning by getting
Gabe McDowell out at second. Wilmington put a runner at third base with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but a fly out ended the frame.
After Capital took the lead in the top of the seventh, the Quakers had a chance to tie in the bottom of the inning. An error started the inning and gave Wilmington a baserunner. However, the Comets cracked down on defense. A failed bunt attempt was one out before
Ethan Bunce singled up the middle. Battle tried to reach third base, but Capital's center fielder cut him down with a perfect throw to end all hopes of tying the game in the inning for Wilmington. The Quakers didn't threaten to score again.
Game One Notables
- Six Quakers had one hit in the game.
- JP Donelan had the lone Quakers RBI. He also stole a base in the game.
- Trent Mendenhall tossed 5.2 innings for Wilmington, striking out six Comets while allowing just one run.
- Hayden Wibbeler and Nathan Powers combined for 3.1 innings of two run baseball, while striking out three hitters each.
Game Two – Wilmington defeats Capital, 6-4
The second contest was looking very similar to the first as
Max Gildea and Nash Andrix were battling to a 1-1 tie through five innings.
However, the bottom of the sixth inning changed everything for Wilmington. The first four batters reached base and two of them scored to take a 3-1 lead.
Eli Hollingsworth walked and beat out a throw to second to allow
J.C. Calhoun to reach on a fielder's choice. The play that really changed the game was a beautiful bunt from
JP Donelan that forced a poor throw from Capital's third basemen into right field. This scored Hollingsworth and Calhoun before an RBI single from
Dominic Depa brought in Donelan. Depa scored the final run of the inning on a fielder's choice as Wilmington took a 5-1 lead.
Their lead increased to 6-1 on a
Kyle Jennings sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth. The Comets had the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth and didn't make it easy for the Quakers, but they prevailed for the 6-4 victory.
Game Two Notables
- JP Donelan, Max Gildea, and Kyle Jennings all had two hits for the Quakers.
- Four Quakers had one RBI in the game.
- JP Donelan had another stolen base in game two.
- Gildea threw a gem on the mound, going 8.1 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, while striking out five batters.
- Nathan Powers nailed down his fourth save of the season.
What's Up Next
The Quakers are scheduled to play at Mount St. Joseph University tomorrow evening at 6:00 P.M. They will be playing in Batavia, Ohio at Midland Field.
