ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University Baseball Team opened up the 2026 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament by defeating Ohio Northern University by a score of 17-3 and clinched their spot at least into the afternoon matchup with either Ohio Northern or Muskingum.
It was a game where the Yellow Jackets had most of their offense in just three innings, scoring four in the second, a run in the third and four in the fourth to blow the lead open to 9-0 to keep their dreams alive of winning a third consecutive OAC Tournament. They ended up finishing the game with a season-high.
On offense, the Yellow Jackets were led by senior outfielder Dennis Ritlinger-Nirider (Grove City) and Sophomore left fielder Mario Escano (Broadview Heights/North Royalton) who each had four hits.
On the mound, junior right-hander Matt Moscarino (Strongsville/Padua Franciscan) pitched a gem of 7 innings and allowed only two runs and struck out five as the ground-ball play was in session numerous times throughout the afternoon.
Scoring Summary
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Bottom 2nd - In the bottom of the second, Senior right-fielder John Panstares (Westlake/St. Ignatius) started the scoring off with a two-run single
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Bottom 2nd - Ritlinger-Nirider had his first hit of the game, a double, to score two runs and increase the lead to 4-0
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Bottom 3rd - Junior catcher Mason Fixx (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) had a double for the lone BW run of the third
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Bottom 4th - Junior first-baseman Ryan Gordon (Strongsville) had an RBI groundout to score Ritlinger-Nirider for the fifth run of the game for the Brown and Gold
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Bottom 4th - Senior outfielder Nolan Kellicker (Dover) had a single to right center field to increase the BW lead
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Bottom 4th - Panstares added another single and it scored one run
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Bottom 4th - Fixx had another single of his own for the final run of the inning as the Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 9-0
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Bottom 7th - Ritlinger-Nirider added another single for BW's first run since the fourth inning, making it a 10-2 lead at the time
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Bottom 7th - Junior designated hitter Colin West (Westborough, Mass./Worcester Academy) had one RBI on a double as the game became 11-2 after seven
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Bottom 8th - Senior shortstop Matt Terzola (Uniontown/Archbishop Hoban) had a two run single which went into left center
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Bottom 8th - Senior infielder Sean Kolenich (Parma/St. Edward) hit a two-run home run for the first of the game for either team
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Bottom 8th - West had another double to give BW a 16-3 advantage
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Bottom 8th - Junior second-baseman Jace Druschel (Tampa, Fla./George Steinbrenner) was responsible for scoring the final run of the game for BW, with a single to bring home West
At the Plate
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Kolenich was 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBI
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Ritlinger-Nirider went 4-for-6 with a double, a walk and drove in three runs
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West was 3-for-6 with three doubles, which were good enough for two RBI
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Escano was the other leader at the plate for BW, going 4-for-6 with
On the Mound
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Moscarino went seven innings, struck out five batters, allowed two earned runs and just six hits
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Senior right-hander Tyler Walker (Fairlawn/Copley) pitched two innings in relief and struck out one batter, allowed a run, a hit, a walk and threw 21 pitches
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets continue their OAC Tournament run tomorrow, May 8 against Mount Union at Rafeld-Rogers Field on the campus of the University of Mount Union. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m. and fans can tune into
FloCollege for all the action. If the Brown and Gold lose tomorrow, they will play a game at 4 p.m. against the winner of game 3 between Ohio Northern and Muskingum.
