Big bats lifted DePauw University's baseball team to a four game sweep of Ohio Wesleyan University's Battling Bishops this weekend.
The Tigers received a much needed boost in their overall record and earned their first four victories of the NCAC campaign.
"Our energy on and off the field was really great this weekend," sophomore Wyatt Spector said. "We need to keep up the energy and focus in order to keep the momentum on our side for the next conference games in the future."
In the first game of the series, DePauw raced out to a 9-0 lead through the opening four and a half innings and coasted to a 9-2 win over the Battling Bishops.
The major blow to the Battling Bishops came in a four-run fourth inning for the Tigers. A two-out double from sophomore Connor Einertson drove home two and stretched the DePauw lead to eight.
DePauw starting pitcher, junior Jack Peck, picked up his first win of the season. Peck went five innings while allowing two runs on five hits and striking out three.
The DePauw offense waited around until the third inning to get going in game two of the series. Two Tigers were onboard when first-year Michael Hartnagel hammered a J.J. Buckey pitch over the wall in left field to start the scoring.
DePauw added two more in the top half of the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 5-0. However, the Battling Bishops would chase DePauw starting pitcher, senior Michael Chiaro, out of the game in the bottom of the fifth. The Ohio Wesleyan fifth inning narrowed the DePauw lead to two as the game progressed into the latter stages.
A two-run blast from senior Brendon Pashia in the top of the seventh inning gave the Tigers two crucial insurance runs and helped them coast to an 8-4 win to close out the first day of games.
Senior Pete Stuart improved his record to 2-3 on the season as he pitched two and one-third innings of relief for DePauw.
Hartnagel went one for five out of the leadoff spot but managed to drive in three runs.
The Battling Bishops would score the first run of game three thanks to Tyler Flaherty's single following a hit batsmen and a throwing error by the Tiger pitcher, Spector.
From there the Tiger offense would take over. DePauw scored three runs in the fourth on a bases loaded walk and a Hartnagel single. The Tigers followed that up with a five-run explosion in the top of the fifth to put the game away.
The Tigers added runs in the top of the sixth and seventh innings and secured a series win with a 10-1 blowout of Ohio Wesleyan.
Spector had the best performance on the mound of the weekend. The starter went six innings allowing only one hit and one earned run while striking out three.
"My off-speed was working really well so I was successful at keeping the batters off balance," Spector said. "I was trying to just put the ball in play because I knew everyone behind me was fielding really well."
Game four of the series proved to be more of the same for the Tigers as a six run eighth inning propelled DePauw to a 12-2 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tigers never trailed as they put up two runs in the first inning and then added two more in the third and fifth innings.
Poor fundamentals by the Battling Bishops led to the big eighth inning for the Tigers. Two errors and a bases loaded walk helped hand the Tigers some free insurance runs late in the game.
DePauw utilized their pitching staff's depth in the win, as they used six different hurlers. Starter junior Eric Steele, picked up the win for DePauw tossing three innings and giving up five hits and one run.
The big weekend for the Tigers has them right back in the NCAC race. Their overall record now stands at 8-9 and the four game sweep gives DePauw a 4-2 conference record.
"Conference is the most meaningful part of the season where we have to win as many games as possible," Hartnagel said. "This four game sweep on the road was very important."
Hartnagel provided most of the spark for the Tigers over the weekend. The first-year drove in a team high of six runs against the Battling Bishops.
Next up for the Tigers is a four game weekend series with the rival Wabash College Little Giants.
"I am so excited for this upcoming weekend already and personally it will mean a lot to play in front of so many friends and family against Wabash one last time at home," Pashia said.
The first game of the double-header is scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday.