Buckeye Reporter

The No. 17 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University baseball team hosted Defiance College and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford for two non-conference games on Fisher Field. Six homeruns for BW carried the home Yellow Jackets to two run-rule wins over Defiance (13-1) and Pitt.-Bradford (14-4). 

Game 1 was led by freshman second baseman Sean Kolenich (Parma/St. Edward) as he hit 2-2 with three RBIs and three runs. Junior centerfielder Vincent Capolupo (Kenmore, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate) went 2-4 with four RBIs and a run. 

Scoring Plays

• The home Yellow Jackets earned the early advantage in the second innings with a two-run single up the middle by senior catcher JT Mazula (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills)
• A homerun from junior third baseman Chris Viamonte (Naples, Fla./Lely) tallied three more runs for BW, making it 5-0
• Back-to-back solo homeruns by BW in the third by senior All-Mideast Region shortstop Alex Ludwick (Brunswick/Padua Franciscan) and junior All-OAC first baseman Luke Vonderhaar (New Bremen) earned the Yellow Jackets an 8-0 lead
• BW notched three more runs in the third to make it 10-0
• A two-run single by Kolenich and a sacrifice fly by Mazula tallied another three runs in the fourth to put BW up 13-0 in after four innings of play
• Defiance earned a run in the sixth, but it wasn't enough to avoid the run-rule as BW earned the victory by a 13-1 score in seven innings

Pitching

• Junior right hander Dawson Gabe (Lawrence, Ind.) earned the win on the mound (2-0), pitching through five innings, totaled five strikeouts, allowing no runs on four hits
• Sophomore right hander Kyle Maruna (Medina) relieved, throwing one innings, and posted two strikeouts, allowing one run on one hit
• Junior right hander Matt Sabin (Mentor) closed for BW in the seventh, causing three groundouts to close the game

Game 2 was led by Ludwick as he hit 3-4 with two-run homer, totaling four RBIs and two runs.

Scoring Plays

• BW got the quick jump on the Panthers as Ludwick hit a huge two-run bomb over the right field fence
• Kolenich, just two at-bats later, also sent one over the right field line to make to 4-0
• A sacrifice fly by Ludwick earned BW the big 5-0 advantage
• The Panthers tallied one in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly to centerfield
• Five runs were notched in the fifth by BW, highlighted by a double from freshman designated hitter Quinn McCoy (Steubenville) and a two-run homer by junior pinch hitter Andrew Parker (Toledo/Toledo Catholic Central) just after (10-1 BW)
• In the bottom of the sixth, senior left fielder Bijan Kamalipour (Frisco, Texas/Jesuit College Preparatory School) knocked a run in off a single up the middle
• After a BW pitching change for the final out, a panther three-run homerun made it 11-4 to force the bottom of the inning
• An error by the Panthers gave BW one run until a Ludwick single knocked in two runs to reinforce the run-rule, and the Yellow Jackets claimed the big 14-4 win

Pitching

• Junior left hander Nik Baldis (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) started and earned the win on the mound (2-0), pitching five innings, totaling five strikeouts, and allowing one run on three hits
• Senior right hander Maxwell Cebulak (Oakmont, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) relieved, throwing 1.2 innings and posted two strikeouts while allowing two runs on two hits
• Senior right hander Scott Kirchhoff (Toledo/Sylvania Northview) closed, allowing the homerun in the seventh for just one earned run

BW returns to the diamond on Wednesday, March 23 as it travels to Meadville, Pennsylvania to take on Alleghany College in a non-conference game. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. against the Gators.