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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Midea
Jess Maddux
Midea set the school record for strikeouts in a season on Wednesday.
8
Winner John Carroll JCU 17-20
3
Ohio Northern ONU 21-15
Winner
John Carroll JCU
17-20
8
Final
3
Ohio Northern ONU
21-15
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
John Carroll JCU 0 0 3 0 2 1 2 0 0 8 12 0
Ohio Northern ONU 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 6 3

W: Midea, Mitchell (5-4) L: T. Pitko (7-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Midea Mows Down 15 as Baseball Beats ONU to Move onto OAC Semifinal

ADA, Ohio -- Anything can happen once you get into the postseason.

Just ask John Carroll University Baseball. The Blue Streaks snuck into the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament with a 12-8 win on Sunday in Game 4 of the weekend series with Otterbein, having lost the previous three games. 

And on Wednesday, the Blue Streaks showed they belonged.

Mitchell Midea led a hungry JCU squad to Ada and emerged with an 8-3 conquest of No. 3 seed Ohio Northern. The Strongsville native mowed down a whopping 15 Polar Bears, the most strikeouts in a game by a JCU pitcher since Matt Fort fanned 16 Baldwin Wallace batters on April 2, 2008. 

Thanks to Mitch Midea's heroics and a strong effort by the Blue Streak bats, Bobby Bell's squad advances to the OAC Semifinal on Thursday vs. Marietta. 

"This is the John Carroll Baseball we wanted to be at the beginning of the year," said Midea. "This is a great team win with clean defense, great run production, and even better energy. I'm very excited to see us carry this momentum through the remainder of the tournament and see how far we can go."

Midea set a single-season JCU record for strikeouts in a season, breaking the previous record by Andrew Doring in 2015. He entered the day with 78 and departed Ada with 93. 

Midea cruised through his first pair of innings, facing the minimum and striking out the side in the second. In the top of the third, the Blue Streaks got him some run support. 

Sam Heaton opened the fun with a 1-out walk, advancing to second on a wild pitch. After a Joe Olsavsky walk, Justin Hanley hit a ground ball that would have been a fielder's choice, but an error allowed Heaton to score and Olsavsky to advance to third. Haracz then stole second, breaking the JCU single-season record for steals. All year long, Haracz has been a demon on the base paths, adding up to a now-record 26 thefts.

Haracz's speed paid off, as the junior scored along with Olsavsky when Hanley tabbed a single up the middle. Erik Daugenti singled, but a double play halted the assault at 3 runs. 

Ohio Northern took a run back in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a hit by pitch and a pair of singles. But JCU still held a 3-1 advantage. 

After a 1-2-3 JCU top of the fourth, Midea responded by cruising through the ONU frame. The junior cruised by striking out the side again. 

The John Carroll lead stretched further in the fifth. Olsavsky singled with one out and advanced on a wild pitch. ONU induced a strikeout, but in stepped Hanley with 2 outs. The power hitter clubbed a 2-run home run to left, pushing the JCU lead to 5-1. 

The Polar Bears called to the bullpen in the sixth after Midea fanned three more batters in the fifth. Tyler Cyrus began the sixth with a single, and Bennett Cavaretta reached on an error. Victor Glaser then reached on a fielder's choice, and another ONU error scored Cyrus. 

Sensing impending doom, the Polar Bears revved up the offense in the bottom of the inning. After an inning-opening walk, ONU scored a run on a double to right center. Another double set two ducks on the pond. Midea garnered a groundout, which allowed a run, but got out of the inning without further damage, ahead 6-3. 

The Blue Streaks put the final dagger in the hopes of the Polar Bears in the seventh. Haracz hit a 1-out single to begin things, and again Hanley delivered in the clutch. The Floridian clobbered a triple to right, plating Haracz. Daugenti followed with a single to center, scoring Hanley. 

Ahead 8-3, Midea fired through the seventh, striking out two more to push his total to 15 for the day. Duncan Cappar entered in the eighth, allowing a single, but nothing else. 

Haracz singled again in the ninth, but nothing came of it, sending JCU into the ninth with three outs to get for a trip to Marietta. Cappar quickly notched three outs, clinching the first OAC Tournament victory for JCU Baseball since a May 8, 2015 conquest of BW, when Jake Servidio got the save in a 3-2 win. 

The Blue Streaks will head south on I-77 on Thursday for a 4 p.m. OAC Semifinal vs. Marietta. The OAC's top seed enters with a 32-4 record and a #4 ranking in the country. 
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