Baseball – The Oberlin Review

Baseball Looks to Have a Rebound Year

March 15, 2019

As small puddles accumulated on Dill Field's bleachers from a brief rainstorm Saturday, the Oberlin College baseball team began its season with a double-header against the Capital University Crusaders. Despite the overcast weather, the stands were occupied with students and fans from both sides. The baseball program’s roster has seen its ups and downs throughout the years, with its most dramatic lineup change taking place this year. The team hasn’t had this many first-year starters ...

Senior Student-Athletes Must Balance Athletics, Academics, Impending Graduation

Alexis Dill, Sports Editor

November 9, 2018

Filed under Baseball, Basketball, Softball, SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features

At the conclusion of her junior year, College senior and softball player Emma Downing was unsure if she should apply to the Honors Program in History. She didn’t think she would get in — only seven students were accepted this year — and even if she did, she didn’t know if her schedule would allow for it. Nevertheless, she decided to take the plunge. “There weren’t any other classes I wanted to take, and I wanted to push myself academically and see what I could accomplish,” Downing said. “I knew that coming up with a question and researching it all year to write a 60-page paper would be the hardest thing I’ve ever done academically.” The History and Russian & East European Studies double-major ...

From the Bass to Baseball: Perfecting the Right Pitch

Luke Sprecher

September 14, 2018

Filed under Baseball, SPORTS, Sports Column, Varsity Sports, Varsity Spring

Most Oberlin students arrive on campus at age 17 or 18, but Ian Ashby — first-year Conservatory student — familiarized himself with the College when he was 12 years old. He played baseball competitively in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA until he was in seventh grade, when his father accepted a position as a Jazz arranging professor in the Conservatory and his family moved to Oberlin. Every Wednesday, 12-year-old Ashby would practice his pitch on the red dirt of the old Dill Field while his dad, Jay Ashby, would teach a class. Dill Field has since been renovated — the classic dirt was switched out for a sleek turf diamond — but nowadays when he steps on the mound, he does so as an Oberlin varsity at...

Big Red Sweeps Yeomen Baseball

May 4, 2018

The baseball team collected three more losses this week in what has been a disappointing season for the promising squad. After making the North Coast Athletic Conference semi-finals last season, expectations were high for the Yeomen, but now — at 10–26 overall and 2–14 in the NCAC — returning to the playoffs is out of the question. The Denison University Big Red swept the Yeomen in a two-game series Wednesday, and their game against the Heidelberg University Student Princes Monday was repr...

First NCAC Win Gives Baseball Confidence, Momentum

April 13, 2018

After losing their first five conference games of the season, the Oberlin baseball team earned a 6–1 victory in the second half of their doubleheader against the DePauw University Tigers Saturday. Although the team currently holds an 8–16 record, the Yeomen are confident in their chances of making it to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the fourth time in six years. In the first game of the twin bill, junior starter Zach Steer kept his team in the game by giving up four hits,...

Stellar Pitching, Big Hits Lead Yeomen Past Wilmington

March 30, 2018

The Yeomen baseball team had big expectations going into the season. After a spring in which they finished 23–20 and broke program records for total wins and total conference wins, the team earned a third-place preseason ranking in the North Coast Athletic Conference this year, which was voted on by all of the coaches in the NCAC. The Yeomen began this season slowly, but after sweeping Wilmington College last weekend, the team looks to carry some momentum into their first NCAC matchup against Ohio ...

On a Hot Streak, Yeomen Sweep Kenyon

April 28, 2017

The Yeomen’s offense exploded for 25 runs in a four-game series sweep last weekend against North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon College. In the team’s first home series against a conference opponent, the games helped secure sole possession of second place in the NCAC East Division with 6–2 and 10–7 wins on Saturday and 6–2 and 3–1 victories on Sunday. With their six-game win streak on the line, Oberlin split the doubleheader against Division III powerhouse Marietta College Pioneers...

Baseball Rebounds to Split Weekend at Hiram College

April 21, 2017

Oberlin’s offense turned from cold to scorching hot over a four-game series with the Hiram College Terriers. The Yeomen bounced back from two tough losses Friday to bury the Terriers 14–4 in Saturday’s game one and 13–4 in the nightcap. Oberlin’s North Coast Athletic Conference record now stands at 3–5. Head Coach Adrian Abrahamowicz said he was proud of how the team responded in Saturday’s games. “We played a little bit tight on Friday, but we were much more relaxed on Saturday,�...

Oberlin Goes 1–3 in Wooster Series

April 7, 2017

Baseball had its hands full with a four-game series against the College of Wooster Fighting Scots doubleheader last weekend, dropping three-of-four games to the nationally sixth-ranked team. Coming off of a 9–1 non-conference loss against Otterbein University earlier in the week, the Yeomen hoped to hit the ground running against Wooster but could not muster the hits. The Yeomen started the weekend off with a bang, scoring four runs in the first inning off of Wooster’s ace Michael Houdek....

Baseball Sweeps Berea in Doubleheader

March 10, 2017

With 31 hits and 29 runs, the baseball team opened up the 2017 season in style by defeating the Berea College Mountaineers in a doubleheader 12–1 and 17–0. After a disappointing 2016 campaign, the Yeomen are looking to build off their current 2–0 start to recapture the magic of 2015, when they claimed the first conference championship in program history and made a deep run into the NCAA Regionals. “The disappointment from last year has left our guys extra hungry for success this season,...

Oberlin’s Errors Prove Costly

April 29, 2016

The baseball team had a tough outing this weekend, as the Yeomen found themselves in a four-game conference matchup with the Allegheny College Gators. With the North Coast Athletic Conference Crossover Series on the line, the Yeomen entered the series in second place in NCAC East but dropped all the way down to fourth place after the four-game skid. The losses extended the Yeomen’s losing streak to six, and the squad has now dropped seven of its last eight games, making its overall record...

Player of the Week: Justin Cruz

April 15, 2016

Junior outfielder Justin Cruz had an impressive afternoon Wednesday, helping the Yeomen sweep the visiting Hiram College Terriers in 18 combined innings of action. The Pleasanton, CA, native had two hits in game one and earned one RBI in four at-bats. The Yeomen dominated game one, winning 11–4 and only batting six out of a possible seven innings. However, game two proved to be a much more competitive affair. The first run of the contest came in the top of the eighth, marking the first time the...