Gators Earn Split with Oberlin

Apr 21, 2007

Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

OBERLIN, Ohio – The Allegheny College Gators experienced a hitting draught and surplus on the same day against the Yeomen of Oberlin College. The Gators went through a rough stretch in the first game, being shut out for the first time since March 24, losing 2-0 in the opener, before the offense erupted for 13 runs in the nightcap, giving the Gators a 13-8 victory.

The first game was a pitchers duel for the entire contest, with Allegheny’s Colt Viehdorfer (Morrisdale, Pa./West Branch) facing off against Oberlin’s Jack Dunn. The pair scattered a total of 10 hits in the contest and allowed no earned runs while recording 13 of the game’s 42 outs via strikeouts.

The Yeomen reached the board first, when leadoff hitter Jesse Cullen-Dupont doubled before back-to-back errors brought in Oberlin’s first run of the game. The next nine half-innings were scoreless, as each team’s pitcher kept their respective team within striking distance of an exciting finale.

The Gators threatened in the sixth inning when Brian Schmidt (Utica, Pa./Franklin) and Eric Rich (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) singled and were on third and second, respectively, with two outs, before a fly-out to left field kept the Blue and Gold with a goose-egg on the scoreboard. The host Yeomen added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Seth Binder crossed the plate on Allegheny’s third and final error of the game giving the game its 2-0 final score.

Allegheny was held to just four hits in the game, with Schmidt, Rich, J.R. Hess (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and James Fago (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) recording the base knocks. Viehdorfer fell to 2-4 on the season with the loss, striking out five and walking just one. Dunn was the story of the game for the hosts, as the freshman pitcher struck out eight Allegheny batters, scattering four hits and walking three in picking up his fifth win of the year.

As much as the first game was a pitchers duel, the second game belonged to the hitters, with the Gators using a seven-run third inning to pull away for a 13-8 win in the nightcap. Allegheny put their first tally on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning when Schmidt singled to lead off the game, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout to the second baseman and was driven in on a sacrifice fly from Rich, giving the hosts an advantage by a 1-0 margin.

The lead would be short lived, however, as Oberlin scored two runs in the bottom half of the first inning, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead, one they would keep until the top of the third inning. Jimmy Fernandez (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) got things going for the Gators in the third inning with a two-run single, scoring Mike Pereslucha (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kiski) and Andy Schleihauf (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) before Fago drove in Fernandez two batters later, giving Allegheny a 4-2 lead. A Hess groundout scored Rich before Pereslucha put the finishing touches on the seven-run inning as he hit a bases-loaded double, his second hit of the third inning, scoring Zack Skowvron (Georgetown, Pa./South Side Beaver), Steve Beckett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) giving the Gators a 9-2 lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.

After holding the Yeomen scoreless in the bottom of the third inning, the Gators tacked on another run in their half of the fourth when Rich singled, scoring Schmidt ad pushing Allegheny’s lead to 9-2. Three straight runs by Oberlin, one in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the bottom of the fifth cut into the Gators’ lead, before a three-run sixth inning, coming on an RBI double from Fernandez and a two-run single from Fago, pushed Allegheny’s lead to 12-5.

After Oberlin scored three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Gators added another run in the top of the seventh inning when Schmidt singled in Pereslucha, before relief pitcher Justin Abbott (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) put the finishing touches on the game by retiring all three Yeomen he faced on the day.

After being held to four hits in the opener, the Gator bats came alive in the nightcap, going for 14 hits, including a 4-for-5 effort from Fernandez and a 3-for-4 outing from Pereslucha. Fernandez, Fago and Pereslucha each drove in three runs, with Schmidt, Fernandez, Rich and Pereslucha scoring twice. Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) picked up the win, his second on the year, giving up five earned runs over six innings, before Abbott ended the game with a perfect seventh inning.

Oberlin was led by Alex Sugiura, who was 3-for-4 from the plate, as two others went 2-for-3 on the day. Jeremy Rich dropped his record to 3-4 on the season, pitching three innings and giving up eight runs, four of which were earned, while striking out none.

The Gators stay in Oberlin to face off against the Yeomen in the final two games of the four-game series tomorrow, with the first pitch of the opener slated for noon.

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