Box Scores:  Game 1 vs. Ohio Northern  /  Game 2 vs. Ohio Northern

John Carroll led for one inning all afternoon against Ohio Northern, but it was the ninth inning of game two. That translated into a split of a home doubleheader in which a late rally in the nightcap salvaged which could have been a disastrous Saturday afternoon at Schweickert Field.

The visiting Polar Bears won game one, 5-4, and held a 2-1 advantage for a majority of game two before a two-run rally in the bottom of the eighth by John Carroll enabled the Blue Streaks to rescue a 3-2 win in the second contest.

In the opener, a two-out single by Matt Hampshire plated Adam Yunker gave ONU a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. That would be the lone run scored by either team through the first six innings.

The marvelous pitching duel between Ohio Northern's Justin Miller and John Carroll's Chris Koller came apart in the seventh inning. A one out error opened the door, and Ohio Northern would burst through with four runs, two on a key RBI single by Brett Katana. With just two hits, ONU was able to break out to a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Miller, who was well over 100 pitches, began to fade. An error, followed by five walks and a two run single by John Skomra, closed the gap to 5-4. 

Inheriting runners at first and second with one out, reliever Cody Fisher nailed down the save with consecutive strikeouts.

The Polar Bears kept the pressure on in game two. Hampshire led off the second inning witha  double to left center, after which Loren Fleischmann followed with an RBI double down the left field line.

An error on a sacrifice bunt allowed Fleischmann to score, and ONU was ahead 2-0.

JCU starter Chris Eggleton would keep his team in it by not allowing any more runs until he left in the seventh. The problem was, Tom Hicke's RBI double in the third inning was the only JCu run on the scoreboard when he left.

Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the eighth, and with ONU starter Brian Hill having retired ten in a row, things looked bleak for the Streaks. But Brian benander was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Hickey followed by smacing a hit down the right field line on a hit and run that allowed benander to advance to third. Hickey would get to second when the ball thrown to the infield was booted.

Hill got a big strikeout, but Russell Toth made contact as the next batter, driving in Benander from third. However, the throw to first was not handled by Hampshire, and his error allowed Hickey to score after advancing to third on the initial play.

Joe Bossard worked a scoreless ninth for his first save.

Michael Eden picked up the win in relief.

JCU is now 17-7 overall and 6-4 in the OAC. Ohio Northern's record now stands at 12-13 and 3-5 in league play.