March 31, 2008
B-W Baseball Team Upsets Second-Ranked Wooster
The Baldwin-Wallace College baseball team upset the second-ranked College of Wooster 7–3 last Thursday at Art Murray Field in Wooster.
Sophomore pitcher Scott Luthman snuffed out a 15-game Wooster winning streak by throwing an eight-inning gem at the Fighting Scots’ high-powered lineup. He scattered eight hits and only walked one batter on the way to his first win of the season. His classmate, first baseman and relief pitcher Brian Boveington, closed the game by striking out the last two Scots batters.
Senior second baseman Nate Luken, who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in, and junior catcher Matt Bolte, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances and hit his first home run of the season, led the Yellow Jackets’ tenacious offense.
Earlier in the week, B-W split a doubleheader with Muskingum College, as junior pitcher Jim Jaskowak struck out nine Muskies in seven innings for a complete-game, 6–3 victory in the Jackets’ Ohio Athletic Conference opener.
Thanks to our typical early spring weather, the Jackets, now 8–6 overall and 1–1 in the OAC, will play seven games this week, including a pair of conference doubleheaders against John Carroll University and Ohio Northern University, and a crosstown match-up with Case Western Reserve University.
For all the details on last week’s games, including box scores and updated statistics, check out the B-W Baseball Home Page.
[ B-W Baseball All-Time Results ]
March 27, 2008
B-W Baseball Team Values Panther Trio
Today’s Euclid Sun Journal sports page features a trio of Euclid High School graduates who are excited about playing baseball at B-W.
Three Euclid High School graduates, sophomores Jim Palko and Jimmy Martin and freshman transfer Mike Palko, are excited about getting back on the baseball diamond this spring. All three are expected to do it at Baldwin-Wallace College.
Jim Palko was B-W’s Outstanding Freshman last year, and he’s off to a good start this season with a 2–0 record and a 2.61 earned run average. His brother Mike is returning to the mound after losing a season to Tommy John surgery and will start his rookie season with the Yellow Jackets on the junior varsity club.
Martin, who saw action in the Jackets’ middle infield as a freshman, started four games at second base on this year’s spring trip to Ft. Myers, Fla., and will provide depth at the keystone corner behind senior second baseman Nate Luken.
March 18, 2008
B-W Baseball Team Returns from Florida with 6–5 Record
The Baldwin-Wallace College baseball team returned from their spring break trip to Ft. Myers, Fla., on Sunday after going 6–5 in the 2008 Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 3–0 start in the Classic, but an 11-inning loss to Haverford College and a doubleheader sweep by a tough Benedictine University club put a dent in their final record. Despite those setbacks, the Jackets showed the same ability to manufacture runs as they did last year, outscoring their opponents 103–40 while hitting just two home runs. They also developed a promising knack for scoring runs in the late innings.
Senior left fielder Shaun Slater and junior center fielder Cody Kidd led the Jackets’ offense by hitting over .400 on the trip, and last year’s Outstanding Freshman, Jim Palko, picked up where he left off by winning a pair of games on the mound. Senior outfielder and pitcher Kevin Shenker made the most of his opportunities with eight hits in 16 at bats and three innings of effective relief work.
For all the details on the spring trip, including box scores and updated statistics, check out the B-W Baseball Home Page.
[ B-W Baseball All-Time Results ]
March 9, 2008
Bob Fisher Opens 40th Season as B-W Baseball Coach
Baldwin-Wallace College head coach Bob Fisher opened his 40th season at the helm of the B-W baseball team today with an 18–8 win over Emerson College at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Ft. Myers, Fla.
Coach Fisher graduated from B-W in 1963 and became the head baseball coach at his alma mater when Lars Wagner, who had rebuilt the program after it was suspended during World War II, retired in 1967.
In his first few years on the job, he put his stamp on the program by expanding the schedule, making the preseason southern trip an annual event, establishing a junior varsity team and upgrading the baseball field. He also introduced an aggressive style of play that attacked opponents on defense as well as on offense.
After an 8–10 rookie season in 1968, Fisher’s Yellow Jackets won the Ohio Athletic Conference Northern Division championship in 1969, and then won back-to-back division titles in 1972 and 1973.
When the OAC realigned to a single division in 1985, B-W won the regular season race and hosted the conference’s inaugural postseason championship tournament. The Jackets won the tournament with a tripleheader sweep on the final day that was capped by a dramatic, come-from-behind win over Marietta College in the championship game. They went on to host three of the first four championship tournaments.
The Jackets also made their first appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1985, finishing third in the Midwest Regional after being eliminated by the eventual national champion University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. They earned three more trips to the NCAA playoffs in the next five years.
Entering his fourth decade in the B-W dugout, Coach Fisher is the dean of OAC coaches with a 362–231–8 (.610) conference record, 17 postseason appearances and four coach of the year awards.
Overall, he has guided the Yellow Jackets through 1,243 games and posted a 651–580–12 (.529) career record. He has more wins at B-W than any other coach in school history and ranks 18th on the NCAA’s list of the all-time winningest coaches in Division III baseball.
