In a Sunday doubleheader, the Kenyon baseball team split games against Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) for its first NCAC game of the season at McCloskey Field. Two days later, the Owls suffered a sweep at the hands of the College of Wooster Fighting Scots. The Owls’ record currently sits at 13-8 (1-3 NCAC).
Kenyon’s offense and pitching were in perfect harmony in the first game against OWU. Theo Canning ’26 pitched six innings and picked up 10 strikeouts for his second win of the season, earning NCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors for his impressive performance. In an email to the Collegian, Canning said, “As a pitcher, the main objective is to get the opposing hitters out and one of the most effective ways to make this happen is to trick the hitters into swinging at balls outside of the strike zone.”
Kenyon’s offense scored 12 runs, with Edwin Groff ’25 and Tripper Capps ’24 contributing RBI groundouts in the fourth inning, before the Owls poured on seven runs in the sixth inning. Kenyon took the game 12-1 in seven innings after the run (mercy) rule kicked in.
The Owls only managed five runs in game two to OWU’s nine, four of which were unearned due to Kenyon errors. Despite a late rally in the ninth inning, the Owls could not overcome the deficit and settled for the split with a 9-5 defeat.
On Tuesday, the Owls got back on the diamond to play Wooster. Through three innings, Wooster led 4-1 after a pair of home runs. Unfortunately, the Owls were limited to only one hit in the final four innings of game one, while the Fighting Scots added eight runs over the final three innings, giving them a 10-run lead and securing them early 12-2 victory due to the run (mercy) rule.
Game two started strong for Wooster, who had the bases loaded with just one out. Jackson Niedel ’26 bounced back with consecutive swinging strikeouts, but an unearned run came home on a walk. Niedel struck out two more in the second, and Kenyon tied the game at 1-1 on a wild pitch.
Wooster’s Dane Camphausen started the third inning with his third home run of the day, but Robbie Coates ’26 prevented further damage by throwing out a runner at home to end the inning. The Owls tied things up on a bases-loaded walk to Niko Price ’26, but Kenyon failed to take full advantage of the opportunity, leaving the bases loaded and the score tied at 2-2.
The fourth inning remained scoreless, and Sam Richards ’23 replaced Niedel in the fifth. By the end of the inning, Wooster had scored 10 runs on four Kenyon pitchers, including a grand slam.
Bradley Blasberg ’26 and Malcolm Gaynor ’24 each hit two-run home runs in the sixth inning, but Wooster added another run in the same inning and three more in the eighth inning, securing a 19-9 victory.
Kenyon will face No. 13 Denison University in a twin bill on Saturday in Granville, Ohio.