The Observer, April 20, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 25
Senior pitchers, early scoring lead baseball team past Oberlin
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There are many antidotes available to help a baseball pitcher to overcome cold weather. Early leads and strong defense are among the most prominent. Wednesday, senior pitchers John Thuermer and JR Doolos received a heavy dose of both, helping them and the rest of the Spartans sweep a doubleheader against the Oberlin Yeomen.
The Spartans won the first game, 3-2. Doolos pitched the whole game for the Spartans, allowing just four hits, two runs (one earned) while striking out six batters and walking none. Case gave him a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Senior centerfielder David Adams led off the game with a walk and was advanced to second after a single by Marshall Hampton. Oberlin pitcher Eric Gibbs hit the next batter, Kevin Haley, to load the bases. First baseman Jamal Mahmud then put the Spartans ahead with a two-run double down the left field line. Kevin Carney hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the third run, and that concluded the Spartans' scoring for the first game. The three runs were all that Doolos needed.
Mahmud's double was the critical hit of the inning and gave the Spartans momentum that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the doubleheader.
"I just wanted to make good contact," Mahmud said. "I just happened to hit it well and got a double out of it."
In the second game, Oberlin jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Thuermer. The Spartans, though, came back with five runs of their own to seize the momentum. Adams and Hampton both had singles to start the Case rally, and Haley was hit by a pitch again to load the bases. Mahmud proceeded to inflict more damage upon the Yeomen, driving in two runs with a single. Carney followed with a single to put Case in the lead. The Spartans scored two more runs before the end of the inning, and Thuermer settled down to hold the lead during the rest of the game.
Hampton, who caught Thuermer in the second game, said that the senior had good command of his pitches throughout the game.
"As long as he kept the ball down, he was good," Hampton said. "When he's on, he's tough to beat."
Hampton cited the improving weather as a key to the Spartans' success on Wednesday.
"Being able to practice the last two days outside helped," he said after the doubleheader. "It allowed us to get our cuts in."
The Spartans' strong performance on Wednesday was in stark contrast to their troubles at Wooster last week. The Fighting Scots have one of the top Division III baseball programs around, and they put a beating on the Spartans, defeating them 17-0 and 9-1 last Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Shortstop Kevin Haley said a lack of execution kept the Spartans out of both games.
"The first game was just bad all around," Haley said. "We couldn't get anything going and we just weren't really firing on any cylinders, and they took it to us."
The second game was a little closer but the Spartans could not take advantage of scoring opportunities to mount a significant comeback.
"We were down 0-1 until the fourth and then they woke up and put some runs on the board," Haley said. "We had chances that could have changed the game. We just couldn't get that big hit."
After recovering from those difficult games at Wooster to defeat Oberlin, the Spartans hope to continue their winning ways on the road this coming week when they play doubleheaders at local rivals John Carroll and Notre Dame. John Carroll hosts the Spartans at 1 p.m. on Sunday, and Case will travel to Notre Dame for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday.
