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Box Score 2 PORT CHARLOTTE, IND. – Unbeaten North Central College of Illinois out of the Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and North Coast Athletic Conference power The College of Wooster managed to side-step Manchester University in a pair of close-knit regional clashes Sunday and Monday, March 20 and 21.
The Spartans, dipping to 6-6, were on the verge of victory in both match-ups. The Cardinals rallied from an early deficit with a two-run fifth inning double from shortstop Dan Sotiros, as starting pitcher Russell Hoh was a tough puzzle for the Black and Gold bats, allowing only five hits and striking out five in a complete-game decision. MU's pitching combination of sophomore starter Taylor Kopplin (Westport, Ind.) and junior reliever Mason Neuman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was just as strong, striking out seven between them and only being touched for six hits.
In their second meeting, versus the Fighting Scots, a solo home run off the bat of sophomore outfielder Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) in the home half of the fifth, coupled with some sparkling relief pitching from junior Cory Ferguson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) put them just two outs shy of a 3-2 win. However, an infield error helped push across the tying run, and Wooster added six unearned tallies on four hits in the 12th for a 9-3 decision.
MU's offense was topped by Knepper in the Wooster contest, as he went three-for-four with the home run and scored two runs. The junior outfielding tandem of Chad Schultz (Fair Oaks, Ind.) and Braydin Stell (Fort Wayne, Ind.) added two hits each, as Schultz also picked up a two-run double. Against North Central, junior first baseman Tailur Szarenski tallied two hits. Senior shortstop Sean Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) upped his hitting streak to 18 games with a pair of one-for-four outings.
The Spartans close out their Port Charlotte games Tuesday, March 22, with a rematch against North Central at 11 a.m. They follow that up with their first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series of 2016 Thursday and Friday, March 24 and 25, in Cincinnati against Mt. St. Joseph University.
