Baseball: Muskingum (10-21 Overall, 4-10 OAC) at Ohio Northern (18-14 Overall, 8-6 OAC)
Sunday, April 28, 2019, 1 p.m. — Wander Field, Ada, Ohio
Sunday's Preview: The Ohio Northern baseball program resumes its 2019 OAC slate when Muskingum travels to Wander Field on Senior Day ... Following the doubleheader, ONU will honor seniors Caleb Thomas, Blake Lester, Luke Klinehoffer, and Jackson Buda ... The Polar Bears enter the contests sporting an 18-14 overall record and an 8-6 OAC mark ... Northern currently stands fourth in the OAC standings, just three games back from the top spot ... ONU is coming off a 2-1 victory over Wittenberg Tuesday ... Junior Troy Wagner received the victory on the mound after surrendering just four hits and one run over seven innings ... At the plate, Thomas and sophomore Matthew Burkett each recorded an RBI ... Through 32 games, sophomore Michael Rocco leads the Polar Bears and stands second in the league with a .418 batting average ... Burkett and Klinehoffer are 2-3 in batting average with .339 and .333 clips, respectively ... Klinhoffer also leads ONU with 27 runs scored and is tied with Rocco for the team lead in hits (46) ... He currently sits second in school history with 44 career doubles, just two off the program record, and third all-time with 180 career hits ... Thomas and Rocco lead the team with 22 RBI each ... Junior pitcher Jack Schaller leads Ohio Northern and is tied for third in the league with five wins ... He also stands fourth among qualifying pitchers in the OAC with a 2.16 ERA ... Wagner and junior Nate Bye are tied for second with three wins each while the latter tops ONU with 35 strikeouts ... Muskingum enters the weekend sporting a 10-21 overall record and a 4-10 league mark ... The Muskies are coming off 13-3 and 11-5 losses to Heidelberg on April 18 ... Freshman outfielder Brett Carson paces the MU offense with a .347 batting average, 41 hits, 27 RBI, and nine doubles ... Senior Evan Hinds and junior Josh Bigrigg are tied for the team lead with three wins each on the mound ... The former also owns a team-high two saves while the latter tops the pitching staff with a 2.43 ERA.
Ohio Northern Batting Leaders:
| Batting Ave. | Hits | Runs | RBIs | |||||||||||
| 1. | Rocco | .418 | 1. | Rocco | 46 | 1. | Klinehoffer | 27 | 1. | Rocco | 22 | |||
| 2. | Burkett | .339 | Klinehoffer | 46 | 2. | P.Buckingham | 24 | Thomas | 22 | |||||
| 3. | Klinehoffer | .333 | 3. | 3 Tied W/ | 37 | 3. | Rocco | 21 | 3. | Klinehoffer | 20 |
Ohio Northern Pitching Leaders:
| Wins | ERA (Min. 20 Inn.) | Strikeouts | Saves | |||||||||||
| 1. | Schaller | 5 | 1. | Buda | 1.33 | 1. | Bye | 35 | 1. | Fisher | 2 | |||
| 2. | Bye | 3 | 2. | Schaller | 2.16 | 2. | Mohr | 23 | Mohr | 2 | ||||
| Wagner | 3 | 3. | Wagner | 3.12 | 3. | Lester | 22 | 3. | 3 Tied W/ | 1 |
All-Time Series Notes: The Polar Bears currently own a 38-28 all-time series advantage over the Muskies ... ONU has won the last three meetings, including a 6-2, 17-1 sweep at MU in 2018.
ONU Head Coach Gene Stechschulte: Stechschulte is in his eighth season leading the Ohio Northern baseball program with a 177-129 record, a .578 win percentage.
