Wittenberg Tigers walk all over Yeomen

Baseball team freezes against good pitching and bad weather

The baseball team had to play through freezing temperatures and a blizzard this past weekend, which might explain why they came out so cold against Wittenberg University.

The Yeomen played their first game since Spring Break on Saturday as they lost to Wittenberg in both games of a double header. The Yeomen opened the game with a 4-0 deficit after the first inning.

"It just seemed like Wittenberg didn't have a problem coming out and playing, but we don't have an excuse because we were playing in the same weather everyone else is," said senior catcher Oren Gradus.

Wittenberg hitters continued their initial dominance over Oberlin starting pitcher sophomore Jason Quinn as they succeeded in scoring in all but one inning. Coupled with an amazing performance by the Wittenberg pitcher, Oberlin ended up losing 10-0. Wittenberg starter Keith Cooper, owner of the second best E.R.A. in the conference, delivered 13 strikeouts as he handed the Yeomen their second no-hit loss of the season.

"I think we were just overmatched," admitted Gradus. "To not have played for a while and walk in and face the best pitcher in the league was really tough."

Things barely improved the second time around. Once again, Wittenberg took an early 2-0 lead after the first inning of play. The Tigers didn't slow down as they proceeded to score six more runs in the third inning and five more runs in the fifth.

Oberlin picked it up a bit in the sixth inning by scoring two runs, but it was not enough to come out with a win. Starting pitcher sophomore Alex Johnston pitched less than three innings and gave up eight runs off of seven hits.

"They were obviously a very good team," said Johnston. "They were very tight and their hitters were very disciplined."

He didn't get much help from the defense as the Yeomen committed six errors in the ball game. "As far as Oberlin goes, I just wish we could have been more focused on playing baseball than whatever else," said Johnston. "It's developed some, but we need to be consistent and be focused throughout the game."

The Yeomen hope they can focus and play a full game of good baseball when they host Case Western Reserve University this weekend in a double header.