Baseball Comes From Behind, Beats Case in 10
by Colin Smith

Things are already looking better for the Oberlin baseball team. On Wednesday the Yeomen won a game that they might not have last year, defeating Case Western Reserve University, 5-4, on an RBI single by sophomore Ian Haynes in extra innings after coming from behind in the ninth.
The victory over Case Western is an example of how things have changed since 2001. With a 6-7 record in the wake of the win and a 3-5 spring break trip to Ft. Myers, Fla., the team has already passed last year’s season win total of four in just 13 games. Last year the Yeomen dropped two high-scoring contests to Case, losing by two in the first. In the second they came into the ninth trailing by four and could come up with only three.
Not so this year. Instead, with Case leading 4-2 in the ninth, the Yeomen manufactured the offense they needed. Haynes and first-year Oliver Bleich drew back-to-back walks to open the inning. The two executed a double steal and then scored on a wild pitch and an RBI-groundout by first-year Andrew Caprariello.
“We started out slowly,” Bleich said. “We weren’t doing the basics. We turned it around at the end.”
Sophomore co-captain Troy DeWitt, who had come on to pitch in the eighth inning, held the Case Spartans scoreless in the 10th, despite allowing a runner to reach third. Senior co-captain Bob Montag walked to open the bottom. A sacrifice bunt and a Case error set the stage for Haynes to single home sophomore pinch runner Joe Crisp.
DeWitt, who received credit for the win, improving his record to 2-1, had hit a solo homer in the eighth to pull the Yeomen within two. He pitched three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out seven. The home run was the first of his college career.
“He came through when we really needed him,” Bleich said. “No one could touch him.”
“A lot of my stuff was working good,” DeWitt said of his performance. “I felt like I had a lot of confidence in my fastball. I definitely felt kind of dominant.”
Sophomore John Damron started the game on the mound, getting tagged for three runs (two earned) on three hits. Sophomore Rob Smith and first-year Ryan Drews pitched two innings each before DeWitt took over.
Perhaps overshadowed by Haynes and DeWitt’s timely hitting was Bleich’s perfect day at the plate. Bleich went two for two, including a double, and had a pair of walks and two runs scored.
While the offense certainly seems improved, what has made the difference so far for the Yeomen has been pitching and defense. The team ERA has been nearly cut in half, and while the team’s 37 errors in 13 games is still high, it is a significant improvement over last year.
The Yeomen will look to take these improvements into their first conference games over the weekend. Oberlin will host a doubleheader against Kenyon on Saturday and a third game on Sunday. Kenyon comes into the series at 7-7 and will also be playing its first conference games.
“There’s teams around the conference that are thinking about us now,” DeWitt said. “They know we’re an up-and-coming team.”
Within the conference is where the true test of Oberlin’s improvement will come, as the Yeomen look to improve upon last year’s 0-12 conference mark.

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