ONEIDA | The Indians traveled down U.S. Highway 27 on Monday and blasted Wartburg, putting up 21 runs in the series opener.
Tuesday’s rematch at Bear Creek would turn out to be much closer, however, as the Indians needed all seven innings to eek out an 11-9 win over the Bulldogs.
Wartburg actually out-hit Oneida, 11-10, but was plagued by eight errors in Tuesday’s game, and that proved to be a key difference-maker.
Another difference-maker was Aiden Frazier. The Oneida sophomore drove in four runs and scored two more in the Indians’ 11-9 win. The only other player with multiple RBIs was Colten Daugherty, with two.
The Indians appeared to be in command of the game before Wartburg went on a tear in the fifth inning, putting up six runs to turn a 7-3 deficit into a 9-7 lead.
But Oneida rebounded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to snatch the lead for good.
A three-run triple by Frazier was a big part of the Indians’ sixth-inning rally. Gabe Brennan, Todd Derek Ryon and Caden Rector had all walked to start the inning, with Brennan scoring on an error that occurred after he stole second base to spark a flurry of Wartburg mistakes. That cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 9-8.
Next up was Frazier, who cleared the bases with a three-run triple to deep center field. He then scored on an error, making it an 11-9 Oneida lead with still no outs.
The Indians actually loaded the bases again, with Cameron Kidd and Brock Ryon reaching with base hits and Wartburg choosing to intentionally walk Daugherty. But a fly-out to left field ended the inning.
Wartburg’s last chance saw the Bulldogs go three-up, three-down, with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
Ben Sexton got credit for the win. He came on in relief in the fifth inning, pitching 2.2 innings and striking out five batters while giving up two hits and no runs.
In Monday’s 21-8 win by the Indians, Oneida put up three runs in the first inning and led 8-0 in the third before Wartburg got on the board, then scored 11 more runs across the sixth and seven innings to blow the game wide open. It was an 8-4 game going into the fifth inning, and 10-4 before Oneida put the game away in the sixth.
Todd Ryon had a huge game for the Indians, driving in five runs and scoring three more. Frazier also had a big game, with four RBIs and three runs scored. Brock Ryon had three RBIs and scored three runs, while Brennan had three RBIs.
Todd Ryon, Frazier and Rector all had extra-base hits for the Indians, and Frazier had a home run.
Daugherty picked up the win on the mound, pitching the first five innings and striking out 10 batters while giving up two hits.
Brennan closed things out, striking out three and giving up one hit across the final two innings.
