The Oberlin baseball team made up for an opening day rainout by playing some extra baseball on Wednesday, as they split a double header at Thiel College that lasted 17 innings.
After Oberlin’s scheduled doubleheader at Earlham was washed out on Saturday, the team’s season instead began with Wednesday’s trip to Greenville, Pa., where the Yeomen played a pair of games, winning the first 5-4 and losing the second 3-2.

“It’s the best two games I’ve seen in my three years,” captain Bob Montag, the team’s sole senior, said of the tight contests.
The scheduled seven innings were not enough for the opener, as the game wasn’t decided until first-year Kyle Neumeier singled home sophomore Troy DeWitt in the 10th to give the Yeomen a 5-4 lead which they held for the bottom of the inning.
“I knew as soon as [Neumeier] hit it I was going to score,” DeWitt said. “But I didn’t know if it would be the winning run.”
Oberlin had fallen behind early in the contest, as the first inning provided an unpleasant reminder of last season’s defensive woes. The Yeomen made a pair of errors in the opening frame which contributed to a three-run inning for Thiel. Two of the runs were unearned.
Oberlin got a jump start in the fifth when junior Zach Pretzer’s bases-loaded single put them on the board, plating first-years Andrew Caprariello and Steve Willever.
The Yeomen still trailed 3-2 going into the seventh inning before Pretzer and sophomore Ian Haynes hit back-to-back singles and scored on a groundout by sophomore Chris Bamat and a single by sophomore John Damron, respectively.
Thiel evened the score at four in the bottom of inning and the teams traded scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth before Neumeier’s hit put the Yeomen up for good.

DeWitt started the game, pitching seven innings and surrendering two earned runs on just four hits. He struck out 10 while only walking two. While he didn’t figure in the decision, DeWitt remained in the game to scoring the winning run as DH.

“That is definitely the best I’ve seen Troy pitch,” Head Coach Eric Lahetta said of DeWitt’s performance.
Sophomore Peter Wyatt pitched three scoreless extra innings to pick up the first win of the season for the Yeomen, and Pretzer led the offense by going three for five with a pair of RBIs and two stolen bases.
“[Pretzer] really started the season out with a bang,” Lahetta said. Pretzer added a fourth hit for the day during the second game. Caprariello also had two hits and went four for eight for the day.
The late game ended with the tying run for Oberlin 90 feet away, as the Yeomen got a runner to third with one out in the seventh but couldn’t bring him home.
“It’s kind of a bummer,” DeWitt said. “Our second game we played was better than the first.”
Oberlin had taken a 2-1 lead in the fourth when doubles by DeWitt and sophomore B.J. Belville put a run on the board, but Thiel came back with two runs in the bottom of the frame, which proved to be enough to win it.
Sophomore Rob Smith was the tough-luck loser in the low scoring game, pitching six innings and surrendering three runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked only one.
“He pitched well enough to win,” Lahetta said of Smith. “We had good pitching, good defense. We just didn’t have the timely hitting.”
Belville went two for three, and the Yeomen defense was solid, playing an error-free game.
“I don’t think I’ve been on the field for that in my 70-something games,” Montag said of Oberlin’s errorless game. He further praised this year’s team, saying “We have talent, we have depth. No more playing [just] to field a team.”
The Yeomen’s season continues as they travel to Bluffton College on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.