AUBURN, N.Y. – The magical ride for the Oberlin baseball team came to an end on Saturday afternoon as the RPI Engineers walked-off with a 5-4 win to put an end to the final chapter of the storybook season for the Yeomen.
Seeded 8th in the New York Regional, most did not expect much from the Yeomen, but they proved all the doubters wrong by winning three games in Auburn - slaying No. 4 Oswego (7-2), No. 7 Old Westbury (9-3), and No. 3 Keystone (5-4). The only two teams to beat Oberlin were No. 1 Cortland and No. 6 RPI as they will now square off for the regional title.
The Yeomen trailed 4-3 heading into the top of the ninth, needing one run to keep their season alive. Senior Jeff Schweighoffer, who graduates this week as the all-time hits leader with 205 in his career, smoked a one-out double down the left field line and would then move over to third on a deep fly out to right by Kyle Decker.
Down to their final out, it was up to Andrew Hutson to extend the game and the season for the Yeomen. The senior from Chevy Chase, Maryland, did just that as he crushed a triple that skipped up off the wall in straightaway centerfield to tie the game. It was his third hit of the game, but more important his 62nd of the season as he surpassed Ben Puterbaugh as the all-time single-season leader. The former Yeomen great had 61 hits in 2010.
The home-half of the ninth started with a walk and on a sac bunt, an Oberlin error made a tough situation even worse as the game-winning run was now just 90 feet away. Following an intentional walk to load the bases and setup a force at home, Matt Lawrence lifted a fly ball to medium-deep right field that was caught by Hutson, but his throw to the plate was up the line as Tim LeSuer raced home from third for the game-winning run.
Jordan Cohen and Aaron Kalish were locked in a pitcher's duel through five innings, as neither team was able to scratch out a run.
Cohen did run into some trouble in the sixth as the Engineers started the frame with a single and took advantage of an error to put two on with nobody out and chase Cohen from the game. It was the longest outing of his career as he worked five-plus innings, getting charged with two runs (one earned) on five hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out one.
The Yeomen turned to Milo Sklar to finish the sixth, but not before RPI would take a 2-0 lead on two hits and walk off of the Yeomen rookie sidearmer.
However, RPI lead did not last long as a walk to Decker and a single by Hutson preceded the biggest hit of Benjamin Whitener's career. The 6-5 senior turned on a pitch from Kalish and sent it soaring over the wall in right or a two-out three-run home run to put the Yeomen on top 3-2. It was his seventh round-tripper of the season, trying him for the most home runs in a season by any Yeoman who has donned the crimson and gold.
RPI responded in the bottom of the seventh as the first two hits of the frame reached via the walk against Charlie Goetz and they would both come around to score to make it a 4-3 game in favor of the Engineers.
Both teams did not threaten in the eighth to setup the thrilling finish in the ninth.
Oberlin ends its season having played 50 games, finishing with a record of 21-29, which is one shy of the all-time wins record when the team ended 22-21 in 2013.
The All-Regional Team, which will surely include at least a few Yeomen, will be released at a later time.