After 40 games in just over two months, the baseball team finished their season this Wednesday against Wilmington College of Ohio in a split. The Yeomen lost their first game in a close, 8–7 match, but battled back and secured a final victory with a 6–7 score.

In the first game, the Yeomen took an early lead, but the Quakers managed to come back after errors late in the game.

“We were down going into the seventh inning, and we made a comeback to tie it up, but then we made a few costly errors to get the loss,” commented sophomore Michael McDonald.

In the second game, the Yeomen came out strong to snap their 12-game losing streak, but it was no easy battle. At the top of the seventh inning, Oberlin led 2–6 and needed to make three outs to secure the win. Unfortunately, the Quakers managed to score four runs in the seventh inning, forcing the game into extra innings.

“The second game was close almost the whole time,” McDonald explained, “then we got way ahead; then mistakes in the seventh inning allowed them to tie it up.”

This time the team would not let the Quakers pull ahead. First-year Ryan Bliss started the eighth inning with a double right down the right-field line, and was then able to gain a run after a hit from junior Zach Jaspers. McDonald, who pitched in the eighth inning, was able to hold the Quakers back with two strike-outs and causing a fly ball that was easily caught in right field. “It’s important that we didn’t end on a losing streak,” commented sophomore Drew Karlin. “We’re a young team, and we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”

After a tough 2012 season, the Yeomen ended with a 17–23 record — tying for the second most wins in a season in Oberlin history. This is not the only statistic the Yeomen have to be excited about. Junior Eric Knight finished this season just one RBI short of tying Oberlin’s single-season school record of 35. Sophomore Zach Kisley, who had four hits in the doubleheader on Wednesday, tied the single-season school record for sacrifice hits with 10.

“We started off really well in the conference at 4–0,” Kisley remarked, “and we let things get away from us towards the middle of the season, but in games like Wooster we showed how good we are. They were easily the best team in our conference, and we fought through and only lost by one run in two of the games. It gives me a lot to look forward to for next season.”

The Yeomen will only be losing one player next year, senior Jason James, who ended his Oberlin career with eight strikeouts. “Next year we will be able to put in the extra work to beat the good teams like Wooster and Allegheny so we can get to conference playoffs,” McDonald said.