Heidelberg Falls to Winona State

The no. 5 ranked Heidelberg University baseball team suffered a 5-3 setback on Thursday to Division II Winona State at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The loss is the first for the Berg on the year and it pushes its record to 4-1.
 
Heidelberg trailed 5-0 after three innings, but freshman pitcher Sylvester Nino (Willard, Ohio / Willard) settled in on the mound and kept the Winona State hitters at bay and received positive reinforcement out of the bullpen. Nino threw 6.0 innings and scattered 11 hits, while striking out one in his first collegiate appearance. Throwing an inning in relief was Branden Stucky (Medina, Ohio / Medina). Stuckey struck out two and did not allow a hit. Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll) closed out the game in the ninth. He faced four batters and picked up three strike outs.
 
The Berg scored all three of its runs in the seventh inning. Matt Grassley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and Steve Decker (Maumee, Ohio / Springfield) led things off with a single and a double, respectively. Willie Brechun (Canton, Ohio / Canton Central Catholic) had a hard hit ball back to first base and reached on a fielding error which would plate Grassley from third. Keeping the rally going was Jeremy Wentworth (Jamestown, Ohio / St. Charles) with an RBI single to score Decker, while two batters later, with the bases loaded, Gar Keen (Sparta, Ohio / Highland) was hit by a pitch that would scored Brechun.
 
At the plate, Wentworth went 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville), Grassley and Decker each finished with two hits apiece and combined to score two runs.