Baseball Grabs First Ever WHAC Regular Season Crown

Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.

Scores: #15 UNOH 16, Concordia 7; CUAA 10, UNOH 3

Records: UNOH 40-11, 28-5 WHAC; CUAA 22-33, 14-20 WHAC

Next UNOH Event: Mon. at WHAC Tournament – Adrian, Mich. (Siena Heights Baseball Field); 10:00 a.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The 2015 baseball season has been a historic one for the University of Northwestern Ohio. The Racers unveiled a turf infield unlike any other in the country to start the campaign, and after a record setting season, the Racers crossed another goal off their list – a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference championship.

The Racers took a 16-7 win over the Concordia University (Mich.) Cardinals in game one of the teams' final WHAC double-header of the season, clinching the WHAC crown for UNOH and eliminating Concordia from postseason contention at the same time. The Cardinals did rebound, winning game two 12-3.

"I am so proud of our young men," remarked Head Coach Kory Hartman after the day's action had concluded. "They committed from day one to collectively work together and bought into our team goals. We will certainly take a moment to enjoy this part of our season, but we have a group of seniors and past players that we owe much more to. Now, we will turn our attention to preparing for the Conference tournament."

Concordia opened the scoring in the first game of the twin bill, tallying three runs on a single and a pair of wild pitches in the bottom of the second inning. The Racers got on the board in the third when Brandon Collins and James Cardona each picked up RBIs, but in the bottom of the third, Concordia added an unearned run to push their lead back to 4-2.

In the top of the fourth, the Racers got a pair of unearned runs, tying the score, but the tie was brief, as Concordia got a bases-clearing triple that scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth frame.

Jhonniel Alvarez hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but entering the eighth frame, UNOH still trailed 7-5. That is when the UNOH offense went to work.

Collins and Rafael Lozada each picked up two-RBI singles in the inning, as UNOH pushed across eight runs in the inning, turning the 7-5 deficit into a 13-5 lead. The Racers added three more runs in the top of the ninth to cap the scoring and grab the 16-7 win.

Enrico Ciuffetelli (4-1) picked up the win in relief for the Racers, throwing four innings and allowing three runs on five hits, striking out one. Craig Bosonac (1-1) took the loss, allowing a pair of runs on two hits in one inning of work.

Cardona led an explosive Racers' offense, posting a 3-for-4 effort with an RBI. Collins and Jose Cruz were each 2-for-5 in the game, with Collins driving in three and Cruz adding two runs and two RBIs. Alvarez was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, and Rafael Lozada was 2-for-2 with a run and two RBIs.

In the final game of the series and the season, coach Hartman and the Racers shook things up a bit, taking the opportunity to rest some of their starters in advance of the postseason, but that did not prevent the Racers from scoring early.

Cory Cook picked up an RBI ground out in the top of the first, and Brett Akins added a sacrifice fly in the third to help the Racers build a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals tied the game with two runs in the fifth inning, and while Austin Lenhardt picked up an RBI single in the top of the sixth, the Cardinals broke the game open in the bottom of the frame, scoring 10 times to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 12-3 win.

Josh Miller (3-5) took the win in the series finale, allowing three earned runs on eight hits in six and one-third innings. Sean Stanley (0-1) took the loss, giving up nine runs, though only four were earned, on just four hits in five and two-thirds innings.

Carlos Baerga, Jr. had the only multi-hit game for the Racers, posting a 2-for-4 effort with a run scored. Akins and Cook each had a double and an RBI with Kyle Fisher and Justin Cummings adding runs scored.

The Racers have locked up not just the top seed in the WHAC Tournament, but also one of the Conference's two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament. The Postseason for the Racers will begin on Monday morning, when UNOH opens the WHAC Tournament. The bracket is scheduled to be released over the weekend.

"We may have won our first WHAC championship," Hartman remarked, "but our goal is to compete nationally, and that goal is still at our fingertips."