By Bryant Foreman

The baseball team came home to win a doubleheader against Cincinnati Christian University (CCU) on Wednesday after falling in two doubleheaders at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) this past weekend. Earlham beat CCU 3-0 and 13-11.

Due to the Easter Holiday, the Quakers played their first doubleheader against OWU on Friday, where they were defeated by a prepared Bishops team, 0-4 and 5-3. The second day didn’t come any easier as the Quakers were swept by the Bishops, losing the games, 2-4 and 2-20.

However, senior catcher/ infielder Jake Carr highlighted the second game on Friday for the Quakers as he grounded out with an RBI to bring in freshman outfielder Nate Reynolds in the third inning. Although it was seemingly a routine play for Carr, it was his 90th RBI, bringing him to the number two slot on the alltime list for RBIs. Bobby Ebright (’95-’97) holds the record at 92.

In the third game of the weekend, Carr added one more RBI, leaving him one away from the record.

In the first game on Friday, the Quakers seemed like they would threaten to score during the first inning as freshman infielder Chris Baumann hit a single shot, but the rest of the team couldn’t respond for the remainder of the game. In fact, Baumann’s hit would turn out to be the only one of the first game.

Junior pitcher/first baseman Conner Gable worked most of the game for the Quakers, getting three runs on six hits, and had four walks and three strikeouts.

The Quakers showed a little more promise in the second game when they scored two times in the third inning, threatening to take the lead with OWU up 3-2.

However, the Quakers could not follow their momentum produced early in the game, and they were defeated 5-3.

“We struggled to find a point in the game where we were consistent at the plate during one inning and use it to build us up in the next,” Carr said. “Once we get that kind of production in multiple innings, I think it will improve our record a lot.”

   

Freshman Chris Baumann slides back to first base in Wednesday’s double-header against Cincinnati Christian University. The Quakers won the first game 3-0 and the second game 13-11.

After Ohio Wesleyan had scored three times, junior Corey Murray highlighted the game with a solo home run in the fourth inning, closing the gap 3-2.

Although the team was defeated in the third contest of the four-game series, junior pitcher Adam Painter pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on eight hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.

The last game of the series was the hardest to accept, as the Bishops dealt the Quakers a blowout, beating them by a significant margin of 18 runs.

“Although the wind played a role on Saturday, both teams were forced to adjust when batting and Ohio Wesleyan did just that,” junior Andrew Morrical said. “We just weren’t prepared for it and need to concentrate on striking the ball consistently.” 

Baumann said, “For the rest of the season we just need to worry about one game at a time and then go from there.”

After getting off to a slow start, including giving up five runs by the second inning, the Bishops sealed their win in the fourth and final game of the series. In the third inning alone, they scored 11 runs.

The Quakers will next host the Wabash Little Giants at McBride Stadium this weekend, both tomorrow and Sunday.

“Wabash is a great ball club,” said Baumann. “We are going to have to work together and back up our pitching staff at the plate. If we play our game, we are more than capable of beating them this weekend.”

Both doubleheaders will begin at 1 p.m.