The Oberlin College baseball team experienced another tough week as they finished off their conference schedule with a pair of home double-headers against Kenyon this past weekend.

Game one on Saturday started out well for the Yeomen, as they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Kenyon scored three in the third inning and six in the fourth inning to jump to a 9-1 lead.

Oberlin helped this rally with poor defensive play. Five of the nine runs were unearned as the Yeomen committed four errors between the two innings. Kenyon cruised to a 12-3 victory in game one.

In game two, Oberlin jumped out to an early lead as junior Rick Betzel hit a three-run homerun in the first. Oberlin was up 5-3 after five innings when the wheels fell off. Kenyon exploded for seven runs in the top half of the sixth inning, jumping out to a 10-5 lead.

Betzel tried to ignite the Yeomen rally in the bottom of the sixth as he led of the inning with his second homerun of the game, but he would be the last Yeoman to cross the plate in the game. Kenyon scored four more in the top of the seventh and won 14-6.

Sunday came with another double-header on tap and with rain in the forecast. Game one was a fine duel of pitchers, while game two saw Kenyon win handily. Both games were played in front of a very rambunctious home crowd.

Kenyon scored three runs, one earned in the first inning of game one, but were then held scoreless the rest of the game by junior starter Jeremy Rich. Oberlin, however, could not muster much offense against Kenyon starter Geoff Bollier, and the Yeomen fell 3-1.

In game two, Oberlin fell behind early with a score of 5-1 going into the bottom of the third. Oberlin’s hope was renewed when Kenyon starter Joe Hultzen lost his control, throwing six straight balls into the dirt, which led to Oberlin rallying to within a run.

Kenyon, however, went on to score four unanswered runs before the game was called due to rain. Senior Steve Solomon took the loss, but he did strike out eight, setting a new career high.

Oberlin’s final home game was scheduled for Tuesday, but the game was rained out.

The Yeomen have now lost seven straight and 14 of their last 16. Oberlin finished the conference season at 2-14. With the difficult season over, there has been some issues in the clubhouse.

An anonymous source said that there has been strife between team members and the coaching staff. Frustration from the losing streak led to this strife.

In one such incident, a player was so irritated with the coach that he, according to the source, “told off the coach.” While nothing official has stemmed from the incident, the player has essentially been benched for the season.

Hopefully the Yeomen can put this incident behind them as they look to finish the season strong with three non-conference double-headers against Grove City, Thiel and Lake Erie College.