Preseason No. 1 Wooster Rallies Late to Top Heidelberg

The Heidelberg College baseball team suffered a hard-fought 5-2 setback to the College of Wooster on Thursday at the Port Charlotte Invitational in Port Charlotte, Fla. Wooster is a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference and is also a fellow Mideast Region competitor with Heidelberg. Wooster once again entered the 2008 season as the preseason favorite according to the American Baseball Coaches Association poll. The loss drops Heidelberg to 4-2 on the year.

Heidelberg and Wooster played through two scoreless innings before the Scots scored in the top of the third. The Berg answered right back in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of a Wooster error. Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville) reached on an error and came around two batters later to score on an RBI single from L.B. Emrhein (Seven Hills, Ohio / Padua Franciscan).

In the sixth inning, Heidelberg took control of the scoreboard at 2-1 thanks in part to another Wooster miscue. Biagio Boytim (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick) reached on an error. Gar Keen (Fredericktown, Ohio / Highland) came up to the plate and knocked a double to score Boytim and gave the Berg a 2-1 lead.

Heidelberg’s lead stood until Wooster connected for a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Wooster extended its advantage to 5-2 on another two-run home run in the ninth.

Suffering the loss on the mound was freshman Jake Gossman (Westerville, Ohio / South). In his first collegiate start, Gossman pitched 7.0 innings and gave up just four hits and three earned runs, while striking out four.

Heidelberg finished the game with just six hits and Emrhein led the way with two, to go along with an RBI. Keen finished with one hit, his RBI double in the sixth, while Jeremy Wentworth (Johnstown, Ohio / St. Charles), Tony Pawlowicz (Montpelier, Ohio / Montpelier) and Matt Grassley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Gross Pointe North) each picked up a hit as well.