Cougars Suffer Heartbreak in Game 2 as UNOH Earns Sweep

(Lima, OH)-- The pending weather forced the Nortwest Ohio Racers and the Cleary Cougars baseball teams to move up their previously scheduled series to Friday, and moved the location to UNOH's campus, and saw the Racers pick up a pair of WHAC victories.

In Game 1:  After the Racers scored a run in the bottom half of the first inning, Cleary jumped ahead in the top of the 2nd.  Jeremy VanOosterum led off the inning with a triple, and two batters later, Billy Flohr tripled off the center field wall to score VanOosterum from third base.  A Spencer Jamieson groundout would score the run and give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.  UNOH would answer back in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs, and then another five runs in the bottom of the third to take a commanding 10-1 lead.  They would hold the Cougars in check the rest of the way, while adding some insurance runs to secure a 17-2 victory in game one.
Travis Klocek took the loss, allowing 10 runs (9 earned) on 9 hits, while striking out 2 to drop his record to 4-3 on the season.  Jeremy VanOosterum was 2/3 at the plate, while Billy Flohr and Jesnel Soto each added a hit a piece.

In Game 2:  Cleary once again struck first, scoring twice in the top of the 1st inning.  After Aaron Dyke and Kendall Flaugher both singled, putting Dyke on third base, the two would double steal, as Dyke stole home for the game's first run.  Jeremy VanOosterum singled up the middle to score Flaugher and gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead.  UNOH would score once in the bottom half of the 1st to make the score 2-1.  With the score still tied 2-1 in the 5th, Ryan Kadoguchi walked, and Aaron Dyke doubled to put both runners in scoring position.  Kendall Flaugher followed that up with a single to score both runs and gave the Cougars a 4-1 lead.  Cleary would score one more in the top of the 6th.  Nick Koan singled with two outs, followed by a Ryan Kadoguchi hit by pitch to bring up Aaron Dyke.  Dyke would single to left to score Koan and give the Cougars a 5-1 lead through the top of the 6th.  The Racers would start to mount a comeback in the bottom half of the inning, scoring once in the 6th, then once in the 8th to cut the lead to 5-3.  After loading the bases with one out, Colin Brazil would get a strike out as he tried to close out the game.  With the bases still loaded and down to their final out, a defensive error on a ground ball would allow a run to score, cutting the lead to 5-4.  Still with two outs, UNOH drew a walk, and tied the game at 5-5, so extra innings were needed.  Cleary would have a golden chance in the top of the 10th, after a leadoff walk, and a sacfrifice bunt, followed by a wild pitch to put the go-ahead run on third base with one out.  An infield ground ball by Nick Koan led to a play at the plate, with Zach Agemak getting called out for two outs.  UNOH would get out of the inning, and loaded the bases again with two outs in the bottom of the 10th.  They would get a single, and pick up the walk-off win.  
Aaron Dyke was extremely productive at the plate, going 3/5 with 2 R and 1 RBI.  Kendall Flaugher added 2 hits and 2 RBI, while Jeremy VanOosterum also added 2 hits and 1 RBI.

Cleary drops to 17-13, 5-5 in WHAC play.  They will be back at Lake Trust Stadium this Sunday, April 10, when they host the Indiana Tech Warriors in a WHAC double-header.  First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1:00 PM.