Senior outfielder Max Pershin smashed a pair of home runs, the latter a 3-run, walk-off shot, as the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team defeated Wabash 18-7 in the nightcap of a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday at Littick Field.
In the opener, the Little Giants broke a 4-4 tie with 6 unanswered runs to take a 10-4 win.
Ohio Wesleyan struck for 6 runs in the first inning of the nightcap, with junior outfielder Edrick Padilla lining a single and freshman first baseman Zane Vitense walking before Pershin belted a 3-run homer to left center. The Bishops added an RBI double by freshman third baseman Blake Pettit and a 2-run single by sophomore third baseman Noah Brazytis later in the inning.
The Bishops added 6 more runs in the third, getting a run-scoring double from Brazytis, a 2-run double by Padilla, and RBI singles from freshman outfielder Matt Spencer and Pershin before sophomore catcher Tyler Monaco was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Wabash kept the game going with 3 runs in the seventh, highlighted by an RBI double off the bat of Benjamin Henke.
Ohio Wesleyan ended the game in the bottom of the eighth, with Padilla walking to open the inning and Vitense following with a single. Pershin then launched a homer to center to extend the Bishop lead to 18-7 and end the game on the run rule.
Pershin was 4-for-4 with 2 home runs, a double, and 8 RBI. The 8 runs batted in ties for second place on the Bishop single-game list. Pershin also walked and was hit by a pitch to reach base safely in all 6 plate appearances.
Brazytis went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, Vitense went 3-for-5, and Padilla was 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Sophomore righthander Josh Ferreira worked the first 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and striking out 5 while walking 1, to record the win.
The opener saw Wabash take a 2-0 lead in the second, loading the bases on a walk to Kamden Earley and singles by Will Phillips and Brayden Lentz before Earley scored on a wild pitch and Michael Galanos plated a run with a sacrifice fly.
Ohio Wesleyan answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning, getting RBI singles from Vitense and sophomore outfielder Sammy Stoner, and after the Little Giants pushed across 2 runs in in the fifth, the Bishops countered with a Brazytis sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to even the score at 4.
Wabash responded with 4 runs in the top of the seventh, taking the lead on a 2-run homer by Liam Patton, and added 2 insurance runs in the eighth on sacrifice flies by Earley and Galanos.
Stoner went 2-for-4, Vitense was 2-for-5, and Brazytis knocked in 2 runs for the Bishops. Freshman righthander Mikey Olivieri was charged with the loss in relief.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
