Mason, Ohio - DePauw and 10th-ranked Baldwin Wallace battled for 17 innings with the Tigers scoring once in the top of the 17th and holding the Yellow Jackets scoreless in the bottom of the frame for an 8-7 win. Due to a projected late start and no lights at Mason High School, the second game was canceled. DePauw improved to 27-11, while Baldwin Wallace dropped to 28-9
Aidan Howard drew a one-out walk in the 17th and moved to third after an error on
Max Bond's infield single.
Grady Johnson then reached on a fielder's choice which forced Bond at second but allowed Howard to score.
Owen Brazee led off the Baldwin Wallace 17th with a single and stole second. Following a ground out,
Jamison Lewis replaced
Nate Tencza on the mound. Sean Kolenich walked before Deniis Riglinger-Nirider was called out on strikes. The Yellow Jackets' Reid Fleming hit a grounder to third and DePauw third baseman Johnson threw to second baseman Bond to force out Kolenich at second and seal the win.
Baldwin Wallace took a 1-0 lead in the first as Colin West singled with two outs and Brady Bly was hit by a pitch. Carson Petrecca followed with an RBI single.
DePauw evened the score in the second as
Cuinn Morrow was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning,
Zach O'Connell singled and
Nolan Osterling walked to load the bases.
Bryson Dorsey's sacrifice fly scored Morrow.
Howard and Bond walked to start the DePauw third and Johnson followed with a double that scored Howard and gave DePauw a 2-1 lead.
The Yellow Jackets regained the lead in the fourth. Matt DelDuca walked with one out before Mason Fixx and Matt Terzola followed with singles. Ritlinger-Nirider's single to center brought home DelDuca and Fixx and gave Baldwin Wallace a 3-2 advantage.
Bly was hit by a pitch to start the Yellow Jackets' fifth and moved to second on a grounder before scoring on DelDuca's single.
Howard led off the DePauw seventh with a double and Bond walked before Johnson reached on a fielder's choice that forced Bond at second. Morrow plated Howard with a single. After
Louis Florida walked to load the bases, O'Connell was hit by a pitch, Osterling walked and Dorsey drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead.
Petrecca led off the Baldwin Wallace seventh with a single but was forced at second when John Panstares reached on a fielder's choice. DelDuca followed with a two-run homer to left to even the score at 6-6.
The score remained tied until the top of the 12th when O'Connell was hit by a pitch and Osterling walked.
Tyler Walkey reached on a bunt single before a passed ball allowed O'Connell to score and gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead.
Petrecca doubled to start the Baldwin Wallace 12th and stole third. Mario Escano's single scored Petrecca and evened the score. Escano stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. The next two hitters were intentionally walked before Jace Druschel hit a grounder to O'Connell at first and hit throw to Dorsey at the plate forced Escano. A fly out and strikeout ended the inning.
DePauw had two runners in scoring position with no one out in the 13th, but a pair of strikeouts and a line out ended the threat.
Johnson had three of DePauw's 11 hits, while Bond and O'Connell each had two.
Ritlinger-Nirider and Petrecca each had four of Baldwin Wallace's 19 hits with Kolenich, DelDuca and Fixx each adding a pair.
Tenzca improved to 3-4 after pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings with Lewis collecting his first save. Brit Kostura dropped to 8-3.
DePauw opens North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament play on Thursday, May 7, with a 3:30 p.m. game. The third-seed Tigers face second-seed Wittenberg in Chillicothe, Ohio.
