The beginning of this month the John Carroll Baseball team began their season with 10 games on the road in Florida, playing six different teams. During this stretch the Blue Streaks went 7-3 overall, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 81-51 over the week.
Averaging over eight runs a game this early on in the season is something to be highly encouraged of going forward. Another encouraging sign is that two of the games the Streaks lost while in Florida were only by one run. The largest win of the trip came on March 6 when John Carroll defeated Saint Vincent College 23-6.
An individual performance to highlight during the week was junior pitcher Jake Corll, as he went 2-0 on the mound in 11.1 innings of work. He only allowed two earned runs over that span. Corll was awarded both the OAC Athlete of the Week and D3 Baseball Team of the Week honors for his individual effort on the mound. One of his outings included a seven-inning shutout versus Albion College on March 7 in which Jake only allowed one hit.
After returning to campus the Streaks quickly went on the road once again this time to Fredericksburg, Va. where they played the University of Mary Washington in a three-game series. Despite losing the first two games in a doubleheader on March 15, the Streaks were able to bounce back the next day and close the series with an 8-1 win.
On March 18, John Carroll played their home opener against Bethany College where the Streaks dominated in a 10-0 win. Leading the way on the mound for seven innings and earning the win was Roger Simon ’26. On the offensive side four Blue Streaks had two RBIs each, providing plenty of run support for Simon.
To begin conference play in the OAC for the final time, John Carroll headed to Westerville on March 22 to play Otterbein in a doubleheader. Although Otterbein defeated John Carroll twice last season, this year the Blue Streaks were able to get their revenge sweeping the Cardinals in both games. In each game John Carroll’s offense scored 16 runs, absolutely crushing Otterbein’s pitching as the Blue Streaks hit three home runs and seven doubles between the two games. If this level of offensive production continues throughout the remainder of the season, it will cause headaches for pitchers all throughout the OAC.
On Sunday March 23 John Carroll played two games against Case Western ranked #23 in the nation for division three schools. In game one the Blue Streaks were held scoreless for eight innings before having an electric four-run ninth inning to comeback from a 3-0 deficit. In game two, despite being tied 1-1 for a majority of the game, Case was able to add three late runs which secured them the victory. Ultimately, splitting with a team of Case’s caliber and playing competitively in both contests is a good sign for the remainder of the season.
As we approach the halfway point in the season John Carroll’s record stands at 12-6 through 18 games. Coming up in the next two weeks John Carroll has six important OAC conference games including two against rival Mount Union that could have major implications for the Blue Streaks in determining making it to the postseason.