It had been over two months since John Carroll University wrestled on the friendly blue and gold mat before Tuesday night.

The return home was bittersweet as crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace University won the match, 35-6, in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

The match with the Yellow Jackets was the first in Ohio Athletic Conference competition, and the first time the team has been at home since early November.

Sophomore Blake Dixon (157) and junior Tyler Hardtke (165) were the lone victors for the Blue Streaks in the match.

It was an uphill battle early for the host Blue Streaks. A loss at the 125-weight class was combined with back-to-back forfeits at the 133 and 141 divisions setting the team score at 16-0 heading into the 149-weight class.

It was not until Dixon took the mat at 157 that the Blue Streaks saw their first team score. Dixon quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the first period. The sophomore added two more takedowns in the second period to complete the 11-7 victory. Dixon's victory was the first for the Blue and Gold on the evening.

Hardtke made it back-to-back victories for the Blue Streaks at the 165-weight class. The junior opened the bout with a quick takedown in the first period. A series of scoring moves in the second period combined with strong defense in the third period gave Hardtke a 5-2 victory in the match. The hard-fought victory was Hardtke's seventh straight.

Junior Thomas McNuly helped provide one of the most entertaining matches of the night. An emotional bout had McNulty on the wrong end of a 13-5 decision in the 174-weight class.

John Carroll failed to find the scoreboard for the rest of the night. The 35-6 marks the largest margin of victory for BW in the series with the Blue Streaks that started in in 1969. The loss pushes JCU to 2-6 on the year.

Looking ahead, the Blue Streaks will stay at home to complete in OAC action when Heidelberg University visits on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

RESULTS:
125 Chris Doyle (Baldwin Wallace) over Mitch Tikkanen (John Carroll) MD 12-4
133 Jesse Gunter (Baldwin Wallace) by forfeit
141 Zach Taylor (Baldwin Wallace) by forfeit
149 Joey Schmidt (Baldwin Wallace) over John Connick (John Carroll) MD 10-2
157 Blake Dixon (John Carroll) over Graham Montague (Baldwin Wallace) Dec 11-7
165 Tyler Hardtke (John Carroll) over Kenny Faulkner (Baldwin Wallace) Dec 6-2,
174 Garrett Chase (Baldwin Wallace) over Tom McNulty (John Carroll) MD 13-5
184 Ben Lebrun (Baldwin Wallace) over Jimmy Suhayda (John Carroll) MD 12-2
197 Tyler Maclellan (Baldwin Wallace) over Russell Porter (John Carroll) MD 16-4
285 Joe Belford (Baldwin Wallace) over Will Porter (John Carroll) Dec 5-2.