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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Matthew Aukerman
Noah Tylutki
Matthew Aukerman embraces with Henry Darrow (#11) after throwing 7.2 scoreless innings against the #1 seeded Yellow Jackets.
5
Winner John Carroll JCU 26-13
0
Baldwin Wallace BW-B 31-9
Winner
John Carroll JCU
26-13
5
Final
0
Baldwin Wallace BW-B
31-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
John Carroll JCU 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 10 0
Baldwin Wallace BW-B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1

W: Aukerman, Matthew (8-0) L: D. Gabe (5-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Paul Raglow-DeFranco, Staff Writer

Baseball Earns Single Season Win Record With OAC Tournament Shutout of #1 Seed Baldwin Wallace

BEREA, Ohio -- After securing the #4 seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament last Friday, the John Carroll baseball team faced a familiar foe in Berea in their first game of the postseason.

Outstanding pitching from Matthew Aukerman and solid at bats for the red-hot Blue Streak offense resulted in a 5-0 victory over the #1 seeded Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets. With the win, John Carroll also notched a program record of 26 wins on the season.

Aukerman's final line of 7.2 innings with no runs allowed marked the second time in as many starts that the senior has pitched shutout baseball. Last Friday, he threw 6.2 innings while yielding no runners across the plate which helped JCU clinch its spot in the OAC Tournament against BW.

John Carroll's bats were scorching hot to begin the game with three runs in the first inning. Justin Hanley delivered an RBI single up the middle, which allowed Joe Olsavsky to score the game's first run. During the next at bat, Sean Connolly doubled down the left field line for a ground-rule double, allowing Hanley to advance to third. With two outs and men in scoring position, former Yellow Jacket Bryce Holt singled to center field which brought both Hanley and Connolly home to give the Blue Streaks a 3-0 lead. 

The RBI was Hanley's 140th of his career, as he tied former teammate Dom Mittiga and Jim Wideikis' program record.

Following a 1-2-3 inning for the Blue Streaks in the top of the second inning, Baldwin Wallace's Andrew Parker provided a spark with a double to left center field with one out. Yet, the momentum was short lived as Aukerman forced a lineout and struck out Mark Mohnickey Jr. for the final out which defused any scoring chance.

The third inning came and went as both pitchers went unscathed during the frames. The bats reappeared in the fourth for John Carroll as Logan LaMere got on via a single with one out. After LaMere went to second on a wild pitch, Erik Daugenti was hit by a pitch and Michael Persichetti drew a walk to load the bases. This caused BW's Steve Cantini to relieve starter Dawson Gabe, as he threw a wild pitch which allowed LaMere to score from third to make it 4-0.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Jacket offense continued to struggle as they failed to produce a hit in the fourth and fifth innings. The next three frames brought much of the same, as both offenses struggled to generate much life. 

Baldwin Wallace threatened to close the gap in the eighth with two runners on and one out. After Aukerman struck out Ryan Guggenheim for the second out, Henry Darrow entered the game in relief. He finished out the final 1.1 innings by not allowing any baserunners and striking out two batters.

Olsavsky put the finishing touches on a phenomenal Blue Streak performance with a solo home run to left field.

Each Blue Streak except Persichetti recorded a hit, while Hanley and LaMere each had two. JCU allowed only five hits as well.

The win marked JCU's first shutout in an OAC Tournament game and first time winning the opening game of the four team postseason format since 2014. 

John Carroll will look to duplicate their efforts against the #2 seed Marietta Pioneers on Friday, May 12 at 9:30 a.m. at BW's Fisher Field.
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