Box Scores:  Game 1 vs. Baldwin-Wallace  /  Game 2 vs. Baldwin-Wallace

As discouraging as the game one loss could have been, John Carroll showed it had a short memory in putting together a solid game two and earned a split with crosstown and Ohio Athletic Conference rival Baldwin-Wallace Saturday afternoon at Heritage Field in Berea, Ohio.

Using a seven-run fourth inning, Baldwin-Wallace broke open a 3-3 tie to cruise to a 13-5 victory in the opening seven-inning affair. The Blue Streaks turned the tables in game two, however, as a convergence of timely hitting and strong pitching produced a 7-4 victory for visiting John Carroll.

In the opener, Baldwin-Wallace tallied one run in the first and two unearned tuns in the second to build a 3-0 lead. But sparked by a two RBI hit by Chris Cairo in the top of the fourth, John Carroll would claw its way back to a 3-3 tie.

The bottom fell out in the latter half of the frame, however, for the Blue Streaks. The host Yellow Jackets erupted for seven runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth to win their frst league game of the 2009 campaign. Baldwin-Wallace amassed 17 hits in six innings off four different JCU pitchers.

Brian Benenader was 3-4 and Cairo had three RBI to lead a ten-hit attack for the Blue Streaks. Tony Evanko suffered the loss and fell to 0-3 on the year.

Game two started out with ominous overtones as well for the Blue Streaks. The Yellow Jackets would jump out to a 1-0 lead after one inning in which a triple played into the scoring.

But starter Tom Schaberl would settle down on the mound and the Blue Streak bats would start to warm up. Bryan Robinette had a sac fly RBI in the second to tie the score, then Brian Benander singled home a run as part of a two-run third inning.

Ahead 5-1, John Carroll would put two big insurance runs up on the board in the eighth on RBI hits by John Skomra and Tom Hickey.

Schaberl in the meatime, would mow down nine Yellow Jackets in the first eight innings while allowing just the one first inning run on four hits. He would give up two runs in the ninth, but Adam Jenkins closed the door on the 7-4 win.

Michael Krainz had a memorable day, going 5-for-5 to tie a school record for base hits in a game (last done by Brian Mocny on April 19, 1995 against Heidelberg) and becoming the first person in 37 years of JCU baseball to have five singles in one game.