MEADVILLE, Pa. – A fourth-inning grand slam by Allegheny College baseball junior
Jacob Shick turned the tides completely in game one of the Gators' doubleheader against Oberlin College this afternoon, as it erased a 3-0 deficit and turned the contest into an eventual 10-3 victory.
Allegheny (14-12, 6-4 NCAC) also won the second game by a 10-3 score as it scored a total of 20 consecutive runs following Oberlin's (13-18, 5-5 NCAC) opening advantage.
Shick had a monster performance in game one, adding a fifth-inning RBI single to his enormous fourth-inning hit. Between the two games, the junior went 4-for-8 with six runs batted in and three extra-base hits.
The Yeomen jumped on
Chase Boyer early, cranking out three runs in the second inning with a Quin Butler single and two-run double from John Evans.
With just two hits to their name heading into the fourth, the Gators' fortunes seemed hazy when
Robert DiMaggio led the frame off with a groundout to short.
Joe Killian began the reversal with a four-pitch walk and promptly stole second with
Tyler Wagner at the plate. Wagner then pulled a double down the line and
Shea Beaumont worked a seven-pitch free pass to load the bases for Shick.
Shick ran the count to 1-1 before turning on a Harrison Wollman offering, shooting a line drive just inside the leftfield foul pole for a grand slam.
Patrick Orr and
Austin Bristol followed that up with back-to-back base hits and an error on the Oberlin centerfielder moved both into scoring position. Only one would cross the plate as
Cullen Flaherty lifted a flyball deep enough to score Orr, but the damage was done as a 3-0 deficit turned into a 5-3 advantage.
Allegheny tacked on five more runs in the top of the fifth as the Yeomen went through a quintet of pitchers. The Gators loaded the bases courtesy of a DiMaggio single, Killian walk, and Walker hit-by-pitch, allowing Beaumont to move everyone up one spot with an infield base hit. Shick kept the line moving with his own RBI single, and two more runs came around on an error by the third baseman during Bristol's at-bat. Flaherty finished it off with a base hit to right that scored the freshman, making it 10-3.
Meanwhile, Boyer shook off a rough second inning by retiring nine of the last 12 batters he faced following that frame. The sixth stanza featured a pair of flyouts and strikeout, allowing the junior right-hander to finish his seven-inning complete game by facing four batters in the final frame.
Boyer's third seven-inning complete game saw him strike out seven and allow six hits, three runs, and one walk.
Wyatt Sibiga followed his elder's lead in the nightcap, tossing his third nine-inning complete game in as many home starts as Allegheny defeated Oberlin by an identical 10-3 score.
The Gators struck early in game two, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. A passed ball with the bases juiced allowed everyone to advance one base, and a Wagner single brought home
Brandon Pouch.
Shea Beaumont followed that up with a flyout to right that allowed Killian to cross the plate.
Killian tallied an RBI in the third inning when his groundout scored DiMaggio from third. Wagner added a run in the fifth by coming home on another passed ball.
Allegheny completed its scoring with four runs in the sixth inning. Bristol led the stanza off with a double and moved to third during Flaherty's at-bat. Pouch then brought in his fellow freshman with a single over the drawn-in infield.
An error and walk loaded the bases with two outs for Beaumont. The first pitch he saw plunked him to score a run and Shick grinded out a 10-pitch free pass to bring in another.
Andrew Dawson followed that up with a groundball to third, bringing in Beaumont and Wagner as the throw sailed past the first baseman.
After a tough first inning, Sibiga was in cruise control heading into the seventh with just 54 pitches charged to his right arm. The visitors found some cracks in his armor then, scoring three runs on three hits, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and an error to cut the deficit to 10-3.
Sibiga settled down following the rough seventh, striking out two in the eighth to give the Gator coaching staff enough trust that he'd finish the job. He did just that, getting a double play and a flyout in the closing frame to pick up his third complete game.
The freshman struck out six over his nine innings of work, allowing seven hits, three runs, and a pair of walks.
Allegheny closes out its home schedule tomorrow afternoon at noon with a second doubleheader against Oberlin. The Gators will celebrate the careers of seniors
Joe Killian and
Hayden Smith in between the two contests.
