Baseball team unable to drive home a win

The baseball team had hopes of finishing a disappointing season on an upswing, but those hopes were dashed as the Yeomen lost another four games this weekend.

Against Denison University on Saturday, the Yeomen approached the game feeling they had a chance against one of the poorer teams in the conference. They were soon proved wrong. First-year Carson Keeble made his first start as pitcher after being sidelined with illness earlier in the season, but his performance wasn't enough to overcome the team's lack of offense.

The Yeomen opened up the first game with a one-run lead after the first inning, but went on to allow Denison to score seven runs in the next three innings. Oberlin ended up losing 7-3, managing only two hits.

The second game of the double header ended in an 8-2 loss for the Yeomen, who again managed only two hits the entire game. Starting pitcher sophomore Jason Quinn pitched fairly well but the team committed three errors.

"The attitude was definitely good coming into the games," said senior co-captain Ted Lytle. "We felt like we were playing good baseball. We need to step it up offensively."

Assistant coach Eric Lahetta assessed Keeble's pitching performance in the first game by saying, "He pitched fairly well but he did have trouble throwing strikes at times. I think that's just from lack of playing time when he was out with mono."

On Sunday the Yeomen traveled to Hiram College. In the first game the team started slowly, allowing Hiram to build a 12-1 lead in six innings. With the game seemingly lost already, the Yeomen showed a flash of brilliance, scoring nine runs in the top of the seventh.

"Our guys showed a lot of discipline not going up there swinging at bad pitches," explained Lahetta.

The team eventually lost 12-10 but they carried a sense of confidence into the second game that has been absent all season long. First-year Dave Schummers went the distance on the pitching mound, allowing only four earned runs. Lahetta saids, "It was his game to win or lose. He pitched well." Offensively, the Yeomen also played well, tallying a total of eight hits.

The game was tied at 4-4 going into the seventh inning. After Oberlin failed to break the tie, Hiram came out and scored one run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

Outfielder sophomore Jay Johnson said, "In the second game we played almost as well as we played all year."

The Yeomen only have four games left in the season but practices will continue to emphasize working on the fundamentals.

The team hopes to end the season on a winning note as they have games scheduled against Case Western Reserve University and Baldwin Wallace College in the upcoming week.

Sweet spot: Sophomore Brendan Cody waits for his pitch (photo by Adam Reitano)