By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Genoa, Ohio---Charlie Sipe (Northrop/Fort Wayne, Ind.) went 4-for-7 with four runs and six RBI to engineer the Owens Community College baseball team to a sweep of conference foe Cuyahoga Community College at Genoa High School today.
Game 1: Owens 10 Cuyahoga 3
Luke Whelpton (Vauxhall/Brandon, Manitoba, Canada) tossed a complete game, while Sipe blasted a three-run home run to lead Owens to a victory in today's first game.
Owens took a 3-0 lead through one via an RBI single by Sipe, an RBI double by Tyler Byerly (Washington Township/Crown Point, Ind.) and an RBI groundout from Jake Weshalek (Shrine Catholic/Royal Oak, Mich.).
In the second and third innings, Cuyahoga plated a total of three runs (all unearned) off Whelpton to tie it up through two and a half.
However, Stephen Parker's (Eisenhower/Shelby Township, Mich.) sacrifice fly highlighted a three run home half of the third inning to give Owens a 6-3 lead.
They added a run on an RBI double from Byerly in the fourth before plating three more in the fifth on Sipe's three-run home run.
Whelpton (2-2) picked up the win with his complete game. The sophomore lefty allowed just five hits, three runs (zero earned) and two walks with five strikeouts over his seven innings.
Byerly led Owens by finishing 4-for-4 with a run and two RBI, while Sipe and Casey Gose (Genoa/Genoa, Ohio) each added two hits. Sipe went 2-for-4 with two runs, a home run and four RBI, while Gose was 2-for-2 with two runs and two walks.
Game 2: Owens 12 Cuyahoga 4
A six-run fifth inning broke open a close game, while Ardry Mercado (St. Raymond's High School For Boys/Manhattan, N.Y.) picked up a two plus inning save in today's second game.
Owens took a 6-2 lead through three innings thanks to RBI hits from Sipe, Jake Norbut (Grove City/Grove City, Ohio) and Jake Wichlacz (Eisenhower/Macomb, Mich.).
Then, after Owens starter Grant Peters (Eastwood/Pemberville, Ohio) allowed single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Mercado entered and kept the Cuyahoga deficit at two through four and a half.
That allowed Mercado's offense to explode for a six run home half of the fifth to put the game away. In the inning, Zach Coffield (Eastwood/Bowling Green, Ohio), Sipe, Byerly and Wichlacz all picked up RBI hits.
Sipe (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Wichlacz (2-for-3, R, 3 RBI) led the Owens offense, while five others picked up one hit apiece.
Peters (2-0) picked up the win with his 4.2 innings of work. His final line included six hits, four runs (one earned), four walks and one strikeout. Mercado, who recorded his second save this year, allowed just three hits, while walking none and allowing no runs over 2.1 innings.
Notes
With the sweep, Owens improves to 11-13 overall and 4-8 in OCCAC play, while Cuyahoga falls to 21-11 overall and 6-6 in OCCAC play.
Owens is scheduled to be back in action on Wednesday at Lansing Community College beginning at 2 p.m. with a doubleheader.