Box Scores: Game 1 vs. Mount Union / Game 2 vs. Mount Union
All season long, John Carroll had been a team that relied on strong pitching and timely hitting.
On Saturday afternoon at Schweickert Field against Mount Union College, the Blue Streaks were uncharacteristically flawed in both areas.
As a result, the Purple Raiders hung a pair of defeats on the Blue Streaks -- 6-3 in game one and 13-10 in game two -- that no longer allow John Carroll to control its own playoff destiny.
In nine previous losses, John Carroll had lost by a total of 18 runs and had just one loss by more than two runs. The Blue Streaks had also gone all season without giving up a double digit run total in a single game.
The day got off to a bad start when freshman Tony Evanko, who had not allowed more than three runs in any appearance this season, gave up three in the first inning. JCU would cut the lead to 3-2, and then again to 4-3, before falling by a 6-3 score. Bryan Robinett had a two RBI single in the third inning, and Michael Krainz had a sacrifice fly in the sixth to account for the JCU runs.
The Blue Streaks starnded ten runners in game one as Evanko, who began the game with a 6-0 record and a 1.14 ERA, sufefred his first loss as a collegian.
It got worse in game two for John Carroll, as seniors Matt Fort and Brandon Kurtz gave up 13 runs between them. Fort had his shortest outing of the season, allowing seven runs in the first two innings before leaving the game in the third when he was strcuk by a line drive in the leg.
Kurtz worked the next five innings, but allowed six runs on five hits.
John Carroll outhit the Purple Raiders in game two, 16-13, yet left 13 runners on base compared to just two for Mount Union.
The losses drop John Carroll's record to 22-11 overall and 10-6 in the OAC. Mount Union improves to 19-14 and 10-6. The Blue Streaks and Purple Raiders are now tied for fourth in the OAC behind third place Otterbein (11-5), second place Marietta (12-4) and league-leading Heidelberg (13-3). Only four teams make the OAC postseason tournament.
