CLEVELAND – Junior left-hander John Fortunato (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) continued his dominant run on the mound to lead the Case Western Reserve University baseball team in a doubleheader split with Oberlin College on Wednesday afternoon at Nobby's Ballpark. The Spartans were victorious by a score of 8-5 in the opener, but the Yeomen claimed the nightcap, 5-2.
Despite the game two setback, the Spartans (18-9) have still won nine of their last 12 and will continue a season-long six-game home stand with a four-game series versus DePauw University (Ind.) this coming weekend.
In game one, Fortunato (3-1) allowed just one earned run with a career-high eight strikeouts in six innings of work. Over his last 15.2 innings spanning four outings, Fortunato is 2-0 with a 1.15 earned run average and 16 strikeouts.
In the 8-5 victory, Oberlin (14-14) broke a scoreless tie in the fourth as Jeff Schweighoffer led off with a double and came around to score on an Andrew Hutson sacrifice fly. The lead didn't last long, however, as senior second baseman Paul Pakan (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) led off the bottom of the frame with a double and crossed home to tie the score on an RBI single by senior first baseman Brett Ossola (Potomac, Md./Bullis School).
In the following inning, the Spartans scored a pair thanks to heads up base-running by senior shortstop Matt Keen (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) and an RBI single by Pakan. Case then added another tally in the fifth via a Keen RBI double that made the score 4-1, but Oberlin was able to get two back thanks to a two-run single by Robin Witjes in the seventh.
The Spartans added some insurance in their half of seventh when sophomore leftfielder Kerrigan Cain (Hartville, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) ripped an RBI single, and junior right-hander Josh Suvak (Independence, Ohio/Independence) held the Yeomen scoreless for an inning and a third to set up sophomore righty Daniel Sondag (Cary, N.C./Green Hope) for the ninth.
Keen hit another RBI double in the eighth as part of a three-run inning that put the game away for the hosts. Oberlin's final two runs came on a Sean Cohen RBI single and a fielding error in the ninth.
For the game, Pakan was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs batted-in. Keen finished 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a stolen base, while sophomore designated hitter William Meador (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) went 2-for-3 with a run and two walks. Sophomore catcher Robert Winemiller (Twinsburg, Ohio/University School) also walked a career-high three times as the Spartans induced eight as a team.
Oberlin's Justin Kidd (1-3) took the loss on the mound with four earned runs in 6.2 innings. Witjes was 2-for-4 at the plate.
In game two, an error in the third inning left the door open for Oberlin to grab a 1-0 lead when Mitchell Novak hit an RBI groundout that was helped by a hit-and-run.
Yeomen starting pitcher Jordan Cohen held the Spartans without a hit until the fourth when Pakan singled and Ossola doubled to set up an RBI grounder by Winemiller.
Oberlin moved back in front, 3-1, with two runs in the fifth on a wild pitch and a Ben Whitener RBI single. The Yeomen created some breathing room in the seventh with an RBI single off of the bat of Schweighoffer and an RBI groundout by Mike McDonald.
The only other Spartan run came via a two-out RBI single in the ninth by sophomore rightfielder Andrew Gronski (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson).
On the mound, freshman Neal Krentz (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser) pitched the first five innings and allowed two earned runs to fall to 2-1 for the season.
Harrison Wollman (2-2) was the winning pitcher for Oberlin with 5.1 innings of one-run relief.
Offensively, Pakan was 2-for-5, and junior third baseman Andrew Frey (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) walked twice.
Oberlin was led by Ryan Bliss' 3-for-4, two-run performance.
The Spartans play a pair of doubleheaders this weekend versus DePauw on Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21. Saturday's twinbill commences at 1:00 p.m., while Sunday starts an hour earlier at 12:00 p.m.