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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Joe Olsavsky
Isabella Eke
3
Baldwin Wallace BALDWINW 0-1
4
Winner John Carroll JOHNCAR 1-0
Baldwin Wallace BALDWINW
0-1
3
Final
4
John Carroll JOHNCAR
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baldwin Wallace BALDWINW 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 2
John Carroll JOHNCAR 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 4 8 1

W: Steele, Andrew (1-0) L: Alex Ludwick (0-1)

5
Baldwin Wallace BALDWINW 0-2
6
Winner John Carroll JOHNCAR 2-0
Baldwin Wallace BALDWINW
0-2
5
Final
6
John Carroll JOHNCAR
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baldwin Wallace BALDWINW 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 5 7 1
John Carroll JOHNCAR 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 6 11 0

W: Aukerman, Matthew (1-0) L: Ethan Boyko (0-1) S: Smith, Joe (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Clutch, Narrow Wins over BW Open 2021 on Happy Note for JCU Baseball

BEREA, Ohio -- Less than a week of field time? No problem. 

Despite only getting on the dirt this week to practice, the John Carroll University Baseball team downed Baldwin Wallace University, 4-3 and 6-5, in home contests at BW's Fisher Field. 

The Blue Streaks are now 2-0 after the opening doubleheader (non-OAC contests) on Saturday.

The season began with a bang for the Blue Streaks' hitters. Justin Hanley blasted a solo shot in the bottom of the second to give John Carroll an early 1-0 advantage. The dinger sent the assembled, huddled masses of cold fans who arrived early for an 11:45 am first pitch.

"Having the season end early last was heartbreaking. I've been champing at the bit to get back at it," said Hanley. "We've been working hard. We're super excited to come out here and get two wins. In the four-hole, it's all about getting the right pitch to hit, because they throw you a lot of junk. You just have to see one pitch to hit." 

Mitch Midea held the Yellow Jackets at bay until the fourth, when Luke Vonderhaar clubbed a 2-run double in the top of the fourth. The clutch hit granted Baldwin Wallace a 2-1 advantage. Vonderhaar scored later in the inning on the error. BW led, 3-1, after four. 

Despite the three runs allowed (two earned), Midea enjoyed a stellar day on the mound. The junior struck out 10 batters in six innings of impressive work. He didn't get credit for the win, but he played a large part in the effort for JCU. 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Streaks knotted the contest at two. Joe Olsavsky walked Brady Fields with the bases juiced after a Sam Heaton single and a Benjamin Surman hit by pitch. 

Following the walk, Dawson Gabe departed after 6 innings of 4-hit, 1-run work, striking out nine. Scott Kirchhoff entered the game for the "visitors," garnering a sacrifice flyout before hitting Henry Haracz with a pitch to re-load the plate. But he escaped with a hard lineout. 

Andrew Steele looked great in relief on the bump for the Blue and Gold, pitching 3 scoreless innings, mowing down four and surrendering just two hits. 

Notably, Steel escaped a jam with a runner in scoring position in the eighth with a flyout. 

"We just wanted to throw strikes. The defense was very solid behind me," said Steele. "I got a couple of big punchouts, but we have some great guys on defense, so you gotta rely on them and let them make plays.  I trust the guys who were hitting the next inning. I knew we'd put runs on the scoreboard, it was only a matter of time." 

In the bottom of the ninth, Surman reached on an error. A two-base error by the Baldwin Wallace pitcher allowed the junior to roll to third base. 

And then, Olsavsky played the hero, singling to left field to plate Surman. 

"It was a huge adrenaline rush when everyone ran on the field. It was great to win, it was a hard-fought win, it was a lot of fun," said Olsavsky. 

In the second game, it was Baldwin Wallace who took the early lead. 

Alexis Castillo clobbered a homer to right field to start the scoring in the top of the second. A pair of walks and singles led to another run for the Yellow Jackets and a 2-0 lead. But Matthew Auckerman stopped the bleeding at two runs. 

After a JCU opportunity went unrealized and Auckerman forced a quick third, JCU's offense roared back to life in the bottom of the third. Sam Heaton opened the frame with a single. Henry Haracz reached on an error, and Olsavsky walked to load the bases. Hanley then delivered an RBI single to open the scoring.

A Bennett Cavaretta sacrifice fly played Haracz to knot the contest at two. Two batters later, Michael Anderson doubled to right center, allowed two Blue Streaks to cross the plate. By the end of the inning, JCU possessed a 4-2 lead. 

In the fourth, a Hanley single down the left field line allowed Heaton to dash home, extending the margin to 5-2. At the cleanup spot, Hanley hit 5-for-8 with 4 RBI.

Auckerman exited the game after the fifth, handing the ball to Jon Ambro. While Baldwin Wallace did get two runs across in the sixth, Ambro did maintain the lean with a strikeout to end the sixth. 

"We knew they were going to lay off on the first pitch, so we wanted to get ahead and attack them," said Auckerman. "They're going to hit balls we give them, we need to be good with it and execute it."

Olsavsky continued his red-hot start to his JCU career in the bottom of the sixth, as the freshman from Pittsburgh belted a beauty to center for a solo homerun, adding an insurance marker for a 6-4 lead. On the day, he hit 4-of-7 with 3 RBI and 3 walks. 

Baldwin Wallace notched a run in the eighth and threatened in the ninth. But Joe Smith slammed the door shut for the save with two punchouts. 

"It's nice to get a good start under your belt," said Auckerman, the winner in game two. "It's only going to get better from here."

The Blue Streaks will head back to Berea on Sunday, this time as the road team. First pitch will be 12:30 p.m.
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