Yeomen lose to Wooster: Senior shortstop Chris Bamat gets a hit against the College of Wooster.

Since returning from their spring break trip to Ft. Myers, Fla. with a break-even record of 6-6, Eric Lahetta’s Oberlin baseball squad has dropped five out of a grueling six games in four days.

The Yeomen were finally able to open up Dill Field for the 2004 season on April 9 after several frustrating early season rain delays with a 6-4 loss to the Spartans of Case Western Reserve University.

Senior lefty Troy DeWitt matched up against Case’s sophomore lefty Ashi Desai.

Dewitt gave Oberlin five solid innings, surrendering only two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out six. Desai was wild, walking five batters while giving up nine hits over his seven and two-thirds frames. He was, however, able to work out of jams and, along with first-year righty reliever J.R. Doolos, limit the Yeomen to just four runs.

Oberlin tasted victory in a 13–2 romp on April 9 against the Lake Erie College Storm. Sophomore righty Steve Solomon notched his second win of the season, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while fanning four Lake Erie hitters over four innings.

First-years Jonah Teitelbaum and Olin Bekis and junior Ryan Squatrito each pitched an inning of scoreless relief.

Meanwhile, Yeomen hitters feasted, posting a 10-run first inning and taking advantage of four errors by the opposition, as well as a blast by junior Kyle Neumeier that ricocheted off the Dill Field scoreboard in the blowout.

The next day, Lahetta and his club hosted fellow Bowling Green alum Coach Tom Pettorini and the NCAC powerhouse Wooster Scots for two doubleheaders in two days for the 2004 conference opener.

The Yeomen were swept in the series, taking losses 13–0 and 12–2 Saturday and 10–1 and 6–0 Sunday. Sophomore Kurt Kapferer wreaked havoc for Wooster, roping a triple in the first inning of the first game and rounding out the weekend with a home run in the finale.

For Oberlin, senior John Damron performed well on the mound in the series’ final game despite taking the loss, throwing six and a third innings allowing only five runs on eight hits while whiffing five and not issuing any walks.

The Scots entered the game with a 16-5 overall record, 3-1 in the conference. Wooster also carried the rank of seventh nationally in Division III and first in the Midwest region.

The Yeomen’s makeup doubleheader against Kenyon was rained out on April 13. The team continues its NCAC schedule this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. Action returns to Dill Field on April 20 when Oberlin looks to avenge their earlier loss, welcoming Case Western to town with the opening pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.