Late-Inning Rally Results in First-Round Win for Heidelberg

Bats came alive for the Heidelberg College baseball team in the seventh inning against Mount Union College in a first-round game of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Thursday, resulting in a 10-7 victory for the Student Princes, the program’s 11th straight. Heidelberg improves to 34-7 on the year, while Mount Union falls to 20-17.
 
No. 1-seeded Heidelberg, which is ranked ninth in the ABCA poll and 17th in the D3baseball.com list, was trailing the No. 4 seeded Purple Raiders for the first six innings. Mount Union pulled ahead early with a three-run first inning and added two more in the second, while Heidelberg only managed to plate one in between. An hour rain delay threatened to halt any chance the Berg might have at a comeback, but the teams decided to play on and Heidelberg scored one more to close out the third.
 
Both teams posted another run in the fifth, but in the seventh Heidelberg reliever Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll) kept the Purple Raiders to one run to leave the score at 7-3 in favor of Mount heading into the bottom of the inning. Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville) started the scoring frenzy off with a single to right that drove two across the plate. Mount brought Erik Miller in to pitch for Paul Mariotti but that did not stop the Berg as Matt Grassley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North)
singled through the left side to bring the Berg within one run of tying things up. Biagio Boytim (Brunswich, Ohio/ Brunswick) stepped into the box next for the Student Princes and with runners on first and third, he singled to center and then advanced to second, all the while picking up two RBIs and driving the go-ahead run across the plate.
 
The Berg would go on to score two more in the eighth, and Lowe kept Mount’s bats silent to pick up the win. In the ninth, Lowe tossed only seven pitches which resulted in a strikeout looking, a flyout to right, and a groundout to Lash at shortstop to end the contest.
 
Offensively for the Berg, Jeremy Wentworth (Johnstown, Ohio / St. Charles) led the way from the leadoff spot going 3-for-4 with four runs, a double and a sacrifice fly. Lash contributed one hit with three RBIs and one run. On defense, Boytim recorded 10 putouts while Gar Keen (Fredericktown, Ohio / Highland) tossed out three assists. Andrew McFarland (Mansfield, Ohio / Madison) started things off and commanded the mound for the Berg for 5.2 innings, striking out one and allowing four earned runs. Lowe threw for 3.1 innings in relief, struck out one, allowed one earned run, and is now 4-0 on the year.
 
For Mount Union, Greg Ferrell led the offensive push going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs, and a double, while Grant Sevek posted three hits, one RBI, one run, and a double as well. Defensively, Ferrell, Jon Schulz, and Cory Slaybaugh each contributed four putouts, while Craig Knott dished out three assists. Miller picked up his fourth loss of the year for the Purple Raiders, while Brad Griffith spent time in relief in the eighth.
 
Heidelberg plays again Friday, April 9, at 9:30 a.m. against Marietta College in game three of the tournament. Mount follows at 12:30 p.m. against Otterbein College in game four of the double-elimination competition.