By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Sylvania, Ohio---In what was supposed to be a doubleheader, the Owens Community College baseball team outlasted Lourdes University's JV team 14-12 in extra innings at Mercy Field over four wild hours this afternoon.

Following the conclusion of the game, the team's decided to cancel the second game.

Charlie Sipe (Northrop/Fort Wayne, Ind.) had an RBI single in the first, followed by a two-run double in the second as Owens jumped out to a 5-0 lead through two.

Over that time, Owens starter Jake Schmeltz (Eastwood/Perrysburg, Ohio) was dealing. The freshman righty struck out four of the first six batters he faced, including all three in a 1-2-3 second.

In the third, however, Lourdes got two runs back via an RBI triple and an RBI single. Then, they added three more in the fourth to tie it up on an RBI single and two bases loaded walks by Schmeltz.

Following a 1-2-3 fifth for the Owens offense, Lourdes knocked Schmeltz out of the game with a double and a single to lead off the home half. Blake Kuszmaul (Bryan/Bryan, Ohio) entered, but a walk, two wild pitches and two runs later, he was replaced by Sipe, who made his collegiate pitching debut by getting out of a jam via two straight groundouts.

A two-out rally in the sixth helped Owens take the lead back. Benjamin Breymier (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) had a two-run double to tie it, followed by an RBI single from Marcus Rozsa (All Saints Secondary/Whitby, Ontario, Canada) to take the lead.

Sipe remained in and gave up a tough luck run in the seventh. A leadoff line drive to center turned into a triple and a wild pitch scored the runner on the next at bat to tie the game at eight. Sipe settled down, though and got a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts to send the game to extra innings.

That's when things got really wild as the teams combined for 10 runs over the next two innings.

Each team scored three times in the eighth. Owens got an RBI single from Rozsa and back-to-back bases loaded walks from Tyler Byerly (Washington Township/Crown Point, Ind.) and Casey Gose (Genoa/Genoa, Ohio) to take an 11-8 lead, but Sipe allowed three walks and back-to-back singles in the home half of the eighth before being replaced by Steve Georgic (Airport/Carleton, Mich.).

Georgic got two flyouts, the second of which scored the tying run, and a strike out to keep Owens alive.

In the ninth, Owens tallied three more runs via some sloppy play by Lourdes. Sipe walked to lead off the inning and later scored when Jake Norbut (Grove City/Grove City, Ohio) reached on a throwing error. Rozsa, who singled prior to Norbut's grounder, and Norbut later scored on wild pitches to give Owens a 14-11 lead.

In the home half, Georgic allowed back-to-back walks with one out and was replaced by Ardry Mercado (St. Raymond HS for Boys/Manhattan, N.Y.), who allowed an RBI single, but retired the next two batters to pick up the save.

Georgic (1-0) picked up the win. He allowed one run and three walks while striking out one over 1.1 innings. 

The Owens offense was led by the trio of Gose, Sipe and Rozsa, who finished a combined 7-for-16 from the plate. Gose was 2-for-6 with two runs and two RBI, Sipe was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI and Rozsa was 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI.

Owens (7-9) will be back in action Saturday and Sunday against Lakeland Community College at home. The games were originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but have been pushed back a day due to rain. Each doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m.

Notes

The game, which was broadcasted by BCSN, featured a 45 minute rain delay midway through the fourth inning.

With today's win, Owens snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Tonight's game featured 18 walks, eight hit batters and seven wild pitches.