Author: Phoebe Christine Bush

Bilingual poetry reading shows unique perspectives

By Emily Feldmesser
Transcript Correspondent

April 1 brought a bilingual poetry reading by Spanish professor Juan Rojas for the release of Rojas’ new collection, “LUZ/LIGHT.”

Accompanying Rojas was his editor, Ivan Vergara, and his translator Jennifer Rathbun, a professor at Ashland University. Rojas has named his work “transfronterizo,” or “transborder,” poetry because he’s constantly crossing borders, both physically and metaphorically.

Rojas said he has poems written in “Spanglish,” a mix of both English and Spanish, and even some written in Portuguese.

“Poetry is usually written in one’s mother’s language,” he said.

Rojas said Vergara, editor of Ultramarina Editorial, asked him to publish a collection of his poems when he was living in Portugal. Vergara was working on a collection of his own, so Rojas convinced him to publish them together.
When either Rojas or Vergara read their poem in Spanish, Rathbun would read the stanza back in English to the audience of approximately 100 people comprised of students and people from the Delaware area.

The stories would range from his hometown of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, or about his time in Portugal.

“In order to talk not just about my experience (of being an immigrant to the U.S.), but in everyone’s experience, and to give a voice to those so called ‘undocumented’ immigrants is that ‘LUZ/LIGHT’ begins to happen,” Rojas said about his inspiration for his new collection.

Rojas said this poetry session is a celebration of language, which was in turn organized to celebrate the release of his new collection.

Junior Hazel Barrera, president of VIVA LatinoAmerica, said it’s important for students to see what other publishers are doing and how creative they are.

In between the poems, Rojas would tell stories describing the background of the poem he was about to read.
“I began daydreaming about being a poet since I was in elementary school in my hometown of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico,” he said.

“I used to read many Spanish and Latin American authors. I wanted to be like them, travelling, reading and writing.”

Freshman Emma Drongowski found the differences in the poems being read in two languages to be very interesting.

“Although the poems were perfectly translated, the rhythm and essence of the poems did not translate perfectly,” she said.

Freshman Nick Fonesca enjoyed how expressive both the poets were in their readings.

“When Vergara spoke, he used much imagery and accented emotion, while when Rojas spoke, I felt like he was telling a story,” he said.

After the reading, Rojas and Vergara had a bookmaking workshop, in which participants decorated the covers of “LUZ/LIGHT” and were able to keep their creations.

OWU Habitat builds future with local Family Promise

By Emily Hostetler
Transcript Correspondent

Volunteers from the Habitat for Humanity Chapters of Ohio Wesleyan and Delaware County volunteers are teaming up to build the county’s first homeless shelter just a few blocks from campus.

The new Family Promise House, located on 39 W. Washington Street, will be open to homeless families in the area and will provide shelter, food and support services to help families become independent again.
Sophomore Austin Daniels, OWU Habitat president, said the house is the largest ever built by the volunteers.

“(The shelter)’s going to better the community and provide stable support for struggling families,” he said.

Last Saturday, OWU Habitat members worked with Delaware County Habitat members to put siding on the Family Promise house.

Sophomore Jonathan Rodriguez, OWU Habitat treasurer, said he and the other volunteers wanted to make sure the job was done correctly so the siding wouldn’t break over time and end up hurting the people they are trying to help.

Rodriguez said he “felt great” when the group finished.

“We got a lot done and despite the fact that it was very cold and hard work, it was exciting to see that much progress in only four and a half hours,” he said.

The volunteers will continue their work on the Family Promise house this Saturday as their last build of the year.

According to the Family Promise website, 109 requests for shelter were turned down last year; and three to five families, including some Delaware County families, are denied shelter in Columbus every day.

“There is a lot of poverty in Delaware County and it is important that there are places like the homeless shelter and soup kitchens to help people who are in need,” Rodriguez said. “Students can help a lot by volunteering their time at to help build or staff places like these and Habitat does a really great job at giving students the opportunity to help out those in need.”

Daniels said Habitat had just been re-established last year after its disbanding in 2008-2009. Leadership is currently undergoing the “trials and tribulations” of trying to get a stronger base on campus.

“(Habitat) is a principled organization centered about the core idea of creating awareness and promoting equitable options for families,” he said. “A common misconception is that families get houses for free, but in reality, they have to pay for their houses, as well as pay in ‘sweat equity.’”

While volunteers aren’t at build sites, they also work at Delaware County’s Habitat ReStore at 305 Curtis St.

The store provides Delaware families with affordable repairs and renovation materials, according to its Facebook page. Daniels said the money Habitat brings in at the store funds operation costs and future building projects.

Life guards at Meek and Edwards lose hours, little warning

By Taylor Stoudt
Transcript Reporter

At 9:30 p.m. on Friday, March 29, students working as lifeguards at the Meek Aquatics and Recreation Center received an email from Aquatic Director Michael Kroll informing then of the cut in hours at Meek and Edwards Gymnasium. For some students, this was less than three days’ notice that they would no longer have a work-study job.

The Federal Work-Study program is a program offered at Ohio Wesleyan for students who qualify for financial aid. Through the program, funded by the federal government as part of the U.S. Department of Education, students earn money for their education by working for the school.

Each year OWU receives a certain amount of work-study funds that they then distribute to students who qualify. Students are then given the number of hours they are required to work in order to fulfill their federal work study and receive their financial aid.

According to a written response from Facilities Director Dustin Rudegeair, the cut in hours is a result in the failure to properly budget student employment funds and the number of work hours given to students.

“The cuts that have been made recently are due to the amount of student employment funds remaining in this year’s budget,” Rudegeair wrote. “While it is unfortunate that these cuts had to take place this year, we are still proud of the fact that between Meek and Edwards we were able to provide nearly 100 students with an on-campus job throughout most of the school year. We have also already identified ways to prevent this from happening in the future(.)”

In the email Kroll sent to students Friday evening, he included the changes to Meek’s hours of operation and the need to redraft the work schedule.

“By re-doing the schedule it will make the cuts more uniform across the board and hopefully will not result in guards being let go entirely, however I cannot guarantee this,” Kroll’s email read. “The schedule will be done by seniority (based on semesters worked at Meek, not student status).”

Meek will no longer be open from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., will be open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. only on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the SCUBA class, and will now be closing at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and closing at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. These changes have not yet been posted on the OWU website.
Sophomore Hannah Snapp is one of over 30 students affected by these changes. She said the university did not offer the guards who were cut any other work opportunities.

“Guards who lost all their hours were offered to stay on as substitutes,” she said. “Our entire staff had federal work study, according to my boss.”

Snapp was working an average of 10 hours a week for her work-study and has had her schedule reduced to five hours. She said this is a problem because she has not yet earned the work-study amount the university allocated her.

“Overall, our staff feels very forgotten, in a way,” Snapp said. “We have one of the largest staffs on campus, but we weren’t given a large enough budget or any real notice. I don’t think the school should be able to do this in the middle of the semester when it will be nearly impossible for students to find alternative work if they need it.”

According to Snapp, the federal work-study budget for the pool did not accurately reflect the realistic amount of lifeguards required to safely run the facility.

“(T)his is the school not treating its student employees fairly,” Snapp said. “We jump through a lot of hoops to work here to begin with from payments being months behind to the ridiculous system implemented to actually hire us.”

In addition to the cut in lifeguard hours, work studies for desk attendants in the Meek lobby and Edwards lobby have been eliminated entirely.

When asked to be interviewed about the cut in hours, Kroll and strength & conditioning coach and weight room supervisor Seth McGuffin did not respond to requests for comment.

Focus on ‘42’ overlooks OWU’s checkered racial past

By Spenser Hickey
Assistant Copy Editor

As the new film “42” – a biopic about the life of Jackie Robinson and his role in the integration of professional baseball – is released this weekend, the OWU community has been invited to take part in a celebration of the role played by Robinson and Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers manager and member of the OWU class of 1904.

There will be a discussion from 4 to 5:30 p.m. featuring Rickey’s grandson, Branch B. Rickey, and Cleveland Indians Vice-President for Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio, and OWU alum. The Cleveland Indians were the second team to field a black man in modern baseball, shortly after the Dodgers.

There will be four baseball games played against Denison – two doubleheaders at noon Saturday and Sunday. Also on Sunday, the Strand will show “42” at 2 p.m.; there will also be an art exhibit at the City Art Center.

Yet as we honor these brave men and the role OWU played in influencing Rickey’s decision to break the baseball color barrier, there is another color barrier that deserves remembering – and OWU’s collective role in it is one we are far less likely to be fond of.

The page “The History of Ohio Wesleyan Athletics” on the university website says Rickey was inspired to hire Robinson in 1903 after seeing the OWU team’s catcher – a black man named Charles Thomas – be denied lodging at a South Bend hotel, and insisted that Thomas stay in his room.

An April 15, 2012, article in “The New York Times” backs up this claim, although the article acknowledges Rickey may have embellished the tale for dramatic effect.

What our website does not mention is that when Thomas returned to Ohio Wesleyan, he would be denied equal lodging there as well.

It was not until 1949 that Betty-Lou Dotson ‘50 took part in integrating the dorms at Ohio Wesleyan, becoming the first black woman to live in them.

Before that, black students, including the first black graduate, Olive Day ‘03, had to live in off-campus boarding houses or in Selby Stadium.

I imagine most students here are far less aware of this racial barrier and its connection to OWU – it’s certainly not one we would want to publicize, especially since it continued after Rickey, on the virtue of his time at Ohio Wesleyan, integrated baseball.

It is also of note that it was not until 1968 – perhaps the most turbulent year in the history of American race relations – that a student group was formed to represent the interests of the black community at OWU.

In 1968 there were only 40 black students at OWU; Pete Smith, class of ’71, one of the founders of the Student Union on Black Awareness (SUBA), said half of the black students left OWU his freshman year, leaving the others to decide whether to follow them or stay and commit to making positive changes.
The newly formed SUBA had to struggle for recognition and their own private meeting space, the Willa B. Player Center in Stuyvesant Hall.

Now, though, members of SUBA and its umbrella organizations question whether the Center receives the respect it deserves and can still be considered a safe space for their community.

I do not write this in an attempt to dissuade you from attending the celebratory events or viewing “42.” I imagine I’d be one of the last people on campus to discourage increasing awareness of racism and its effects.

But at the same time, remember that our collective past is not as noble as we would like it to be.

Yes, Rickey’s role in breaking down the MLB’s color barrier is something to be honored and remembered, but the existence of a color barrier in Ohio Wesleyan housing should also be remembered and acknowledged.
As you observe the events, keep in the back of your mind the knowledge that racism and discrimination, as well as sexism and homophobia, are still strongly persistent in our community.

We cannot properly honor the heroes of our shared legacy without also admitting our own failings, past and present – or resolving to correct them in the future.

Rescuing the rescuers: Finding a fair solution for the affected Meek lifeguard staff

By Taylor Smith
Copy Editor

I can truthfully say, I am not the only lifeguard upset with the recent changes that have occurred at the pool, and we’re not the only ones on campus have been affected.

On Friday, March 29, work-study students for the Edwards Weight and Conditioning room, the Meek Aquatic Center and Edwards Gym received an email regarding the issue of their work hours being cut and/or eliminated.

The desk attendant positions for the Meek and Edwards’ lobby were fully eliminated or “let go” effective April 1 and the hours for lifeguards and weight room staff had their hours cut back, as the hours of those facilities were also cut.

Rumor has it and several Meek and Edwards’ staff members have been told that cuts were being made because the school lacked resources (i.e. money) to continue operating the facilities as they had been.

Basically it cost the school more to pay us than it did to keep the facility open.

I know as a lifeguard we received a Google Doc to sign up for hours on the newly revised schedule and there was a mad rush to get hours. Hours were assigned based on seniority working at the pool, so only a few freshman lifeguards made the cut. There were even a few junior and sophomore lifeguards who just recently started working at the pool this year, so they didn’t make the cut either.

I have been fortunate to have been working as a lifeguard since I stepped foot on campus my freshman year three years ago, so I was not badly affected.

I did have my hours cut down from 12 hours a week to seven hours a week. Some were not as lucky. Some lifeguards went from working 10 or more hours a week to less than five hours a week.

The reason there is a shortage of money is because the new weight room desk attendants are paid out of the same budget the lifeguards and Meek and Edwards’s desk attendants are paid out of.

I am not aware how many total weight room attendants there are, but I have noticed when I go there are two to three attendants at a time. Most would say they don’t do much, and I do not know how much they’re paid per hour.

But I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, for now, because I know, as a lifeguard, my position has been criticized for being easy, overpaid and not having to do much; then again, I am a trained and certified professional rescuer.

I can’t help it that there are not many people at the pool sometimes and I am being paid to do homework, though there are times where so much is going on we sit in the chair for most of the shift.

I feel as though the school can help how it pays the workers for two facilities. The weight room never had a single staff member on hand, let alone three. When the school renovated the weight room and created new positions—initially great for the students—the administration, Student Employment and the Athletic Department should have determined where they plan on getting money to pay these workers.

If they’re just going to combine budgets, there’s nothing wrong with that, but they should of at least made sure they had the money to pay the students to work the hours they originally signed up for and not force them to change it mid-module.

I know I’m not aware of all the details of this situation, which leaves me a little confused; but aren’t most work-study students paid through the federal government? Most federal work-study grants pay $1,500 to $2,500 a year.

Some feel it’s rare that students reach his or her limit, but some do, which is why there shouldn’t really be much of a budget issue.

If a student doesn’t earn his or her full federal work-study money, that’s the end of it—it cannot be held for the future and the school can’t use it for other reasons.

There are a lot of work-study students who rely on that money to help pay for their tuition, living expenses and other costs that arise (supply fees, parking permits, fraternity or sorority dues, etc.). For some it is spending money, but for many it is need.

The administration and the Athletic Department are—or should be—responsible for determining a budget and system that is reliable throughout the year and does not leave students jobless with a month of school left.

Beyond the Equal Sign: Being a straight ally involves more than a profile picture

To be honest, when I first found out OWU Confessions existed, I groaned a little bit to myself.

I’ve seen these pages sprout up from other universities, and I’ve found them to be places where vitriol and judgement are condoned and human decency is sometimes abandoned altogether. I don’t want such a place to exist at Ohio Wesleyan because we deserve better—no one on this campus should be subjected to anonymous hatred and rumor.

But so far, the posts have been fairly innocuous. The carbon copy, “OWU Confessions Absolutely Anonymous,” has hosted some submissions leaning further toward obscene, but I haven’t seen anything that’s had the potential to do substantial harm to anyone. In the past couple days, I’m somewhat ashamed to admit, the pages have become guilty pleasures of mine.

Some of them, however, have been hard to read. The potential fallout that could result if the submitter’s identity were known is unsettling to me, so the anonymity is good. But it shocks me what some people have done to and think about others, and that they’re so cavalier about admitting it.

Then again, it’s made me realize the therapeutic power of letting go of something a person has kept secret for a long time. To confess must be inherently cathartic—I can only imagine how much of a weight must have been lifted off the shoulders of those who submitted some of the posts.

Several of them are genuine and positive, too, honest admissions of struggle or stories of hope. The fact that OWU Confessions has produced a raw human bulletin board as well as an internet cesspool is remarkable.

What aren’t genuine, though, are the comments. The hard thing about an online forum for things as intimate as these confessions is that everything is submitted for the judgment of the internet’s harshest critics. People are quick to judge each other’s secrets, and ridiculing them is a sure way to kick a confessor while they’re down.

Like the posts, though, not all comments have been this way. Some are supportive, giving the submitter solidarity or sympathy. Some even invite non-anonymous conversation with them if they need someone to talk to.

Even more often, I see commenters calling out problematic confessions—like those of people who chronically cheat on their significant other, or think the “friend zone” exists.

As University Chaplain Jon Powers pointed out to me, there’s a difference between criticism and criticism with substance. The latter is the only kind of criticism that should ever show up on OWU Confessions. Someone’s honest admission of human struggle should not be laughed at; but if you’ve got the bravado to publicly (albeit anonymously) issue your opinion as objective fact or dig up an embarrassing moment from someone’s past, I don’t feel it’s unfair to receive a little criticism.

Ultimately, it comes down to two entities—the moderators of the Confessions pages and their readers.
The former have a responsibility to ensure the submissions they choose to post won’t do anyone any harm. While some of them are entertaining, no confession should involve any other person by name. Neither the submitter, nor the moderator, nor anyone else can possibly know how someone will react to having something intimate about themselves published online by someone else. The anonymous compliments are surely rather innocuous (at least as far as I’ve known), but the harm outweighs the good for anything otherwise.

The latter—us—have a responsibility, too. We need to uphold the power of OWU Confessions as a cathartic forum rather than support the its potential danger. This means being supportive of people who submit secrets that might have been difficult to admit, and substantially criticizing those who attack or demean others. Our campus should be a safe space, not a harmful one. This extends to Facebook, too.

OWU Confessions can be a good thing for a lot of people, but we shouldn’t allow it to turn into a bad thing for anyone.

Noah Manskar
Editor-in-Chief

Cricketz claim winning title at Global Outreach Show

Cricketz, a dance group from Calvin College, took first place for the second year in a row at Saturday night’s Global Outreach Show. The group was one of seven acts to perform, and took home the prize of $500. Kofi Akyeampong, a member of Cricketz, said the group felt “blessed” to win the talent show.
Cricketz, a dance group from Calvin College, took first place for the second year in a row at Saturday night’s Global Outreach Show. The group was one of seven acts to perform, and took home the prize of $500. Kofi Akyeampong, a member of Cricketz, said the group felt “blessed” to win the talent show.
By Marilyn Baer
Transcript Reporter

Seven acts competed in this year’s Global Outreach Show (GOS) for a grand prize of $500. Rafiki Wa Afrika (Rafiki) hosted the event to raise money for the Ghana Student Education Fund. They raised over $400 in this year’s showcase, according to junior Alisa Nammavong, Rafiki president. The evening featured musical performances, choreographed dance routines and a fashion show with clothing from Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Senegal.

In order to determine this year’s champion, up to 100 points were awarded to each act.

60 percent of the points were awarded by three judges – Sally Leber, the club’s advisor; University Chaplain Jon Powers; and Residential Life Coordinator Jill Auxter. The remaining 40 percent of the points were determined by the volume of the audience’s applause.

This year’s first place winner was Cricketz, a dance group from Calvin College in Michigan.

“We entered GOS as returning champions from last year to try making a mark in a different society other than our own college campus,” said Kofi Akyeampong, a choreographer for the group.

They danced to a mix of songs including “Bad Decisions” by Trey Songz, “I Like to Move It” by Reel 2 Reel and “Kukere” by Iyanya. Akyeampong said they used the different songs to showcase the group’s different talents and styles.

They began preparing for the show by dividing up the choreography among each other and practicing daily.
“Everyone had a song or half of a song to choreograph their dance to,” he said.

“We practiced every weekday for one and a half hours for two weeks.”

Akeampong said he felt “blessed” after winning the competition.

Models in the fashion show portion walk in West African designs. The fashion show is intended to give performers and audience a break from the evening’s high-intensity dancing
Models in the fashion show portion walk in West African designs. The fashion show is intended to give performers and audience a break from the evening’s high-intensity dancing

“It just reminds us that God is on our side and he’s going to keep blessing us as long as we don’t doubt him,” he said.

The Cricketz plan on using the prize money to invest in “crew clothing to make us look better while we dance,” Akeampong said.

The second place winner was OSS (OWU Sick Steps), a new dance group comprised of Ohio Wesleyan students interested in hip-hop dance culture. They received a $200 prize for their podium performance in the show.
The dance had three choreographers: senior Yushan Hayman, freshman Nguyen Viet Quang and freshman Linh (Leah) Duong.

Each of the three choreographed their own song in their own style, Hayman said.

Duong said the group entered the show for a chance to “show off (their) talents,” and because it was for charity.

One of the group’s dancers, sophomore Prabhjot Virk, explained the group’s preparation for the show.

“Since there were three different dances to learn, each choreographer set up their own practices, and in the last week we joined them,” Virk said.

Sophomore Deki Pelmo and freshman Abby Hanson performed a mash-up of songs, including “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. This year’s Global Outreach Show, an annual Rafiki Wa Afrika event, raised over $400 for the Ghana Student Education Fund, an organization that provides supplies and resources for Ghanaian students.
Sophomore Deki Pelmo and freshman Abby Hanson performed a mash-up of songs, including “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. This year’s Global Outreach Show, an annual Rafiki Wa Afrika event, raised over $400 for the Ghana Student Education Fund, an organization that provides supplies and resources for Ghanaian students.
“We had practices a couple times a week for two weeks, and then almost every night the week of the show.”
Duong said hearing the group’s victory announced was “incredible.”

“I was completely speechless because we were not expecting to win anything at all,” she said. “We joined GOS with the mindset of just to have fun and do what we love, which is dancing. For us, this was just a show, not even a competition.”

Hayman said they weren’t sure yet how they’d spend their prize money.

“I think there was an idea to start a hip-hop club on campus, in which case some money might go to that, and the rest we might use to go out as a group and celebrate,” Hayman said.

Men’s lacrosse wins four games in a row against NCAC opponents

By Graham Lucas
Transcript Correspondent

After coming off a spring break tour in Maryland where they lost three straight games, men’s lacrosse has rebounded with a four game winning streak, remaining undefeated in the NCAC.

During their spring break tour, two of the three losses came from nationally ranked Salisbury University and Washington College. The team was 4-1 before the losses tarnished their record.

The Battling Bishops are 3-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference matchups with four conference contests left on their schedule. The team’s main rival, Denison University, is also 3-0 and ranked 13th nationally for Division III lacrosse.

Junior Casey Helms leads the NCAC in points. He said the team will have to “play to the best of (its) ability” to win the last four conference games, which are crucial to getting to the postseason.

“In order to win our last four NCAC games, we are going to have to play to the best of our ability,” he said. “As of right now, we are 3-0 in conference and have tough games ahead of us. Every team wants to knock off the undefeated team, so all of our opponents will, without a doubt, show up to play.”

“When we play to our capability and everyone is on the same page, we can run with any team in the country. We are a dangerous team that makes smart decisions and plays tough. As long as we do this, we will be successful.”

The Bishops have played a total of 12 games, accumulating 163 goals and 99 assists, both best in the conference. Sophomore attacker John Umbach has scored 13 goals in the team’s last four wins despite having only five goals in the first eight games. Umbach said his job gets easier when the offense runs smoothly

“In general, we want to create scoring opportunities by dodging the defense and moving the ball,” he said. “The offense has been doing a great job creating opportunities and stretching the defense out which allows me to get open inside. We do whatever it takes to score.”

The Bishops will have extra support in their last four conference games with the return of sophomore attacker Tommy Minkler who tore his ACL, MCL and part of his meniscus during fall practice. As a freshman last season, Minkler tallied 24 goals and 22 assist in 16 starts. Minkler said he is willing to do anything to help his team win.

“It definitely feels good to be able to help out the team on the field again” he said. “It will take me a little while to get back to one hundred percent, so right now my role is to push the starters to get better. These next four games are crucial for us, and at this point I just want to do whatever I can to help us win the NCAC championship and make a run in the NCAA tournament.”

As the Bishops close in on their last four potentially conference-winning games, Helms said the team’s only goal is to win a national championship.

“We have a great group of guys, all of which bring something to the table,” he said. “We all have roles on the team that we are aware of and this is what makes us so close on and off of the field. Everybody holds themselves accountable day-in-and-day-out because we all play for each other.”

Baseball wins two games at home, defeats Oberlin and ONU

By Hugh Kerins
Transcript Correspondent

During this past week the Battling Bishops baseball team held strong at home, pulling out two victories in non-conference play.

On April 3, the Bishops hosted non-conference opponent Otterbein College.

Otterbein came into the game with a 16-4 record, but that did not faze the Bishops.

While Ohio Wesleyan had only played 11 games, the team still knew it had the tools to win.

“We knew coming into this game it wasn’t going to be easy, especially seeing who all Otterbein had beaten so far this season,” senior Greg Hock said. “But when it came time to play we knew we had the right materials to give them a run for their money.”

Otterbein jumped out to an early 3-0 lead that carried all the way through the eighth inning, but that’s when the Bishops came alive.

In the eighth inning the Bishops tied the game when by junior Sean Vollenweider stole home. Senior first baseman James Toland then broke the tie with a two-run double and lifted Ohio Wesleyan over Otterbein for good.

“Our team was able to come back by not giving up,” Toland said.

“We came together as a team stayed focused, and we played the game as it should be played. We got people on base and got them in.”

“It was a great battle and a great cross town rival win, and I am very excited what is in the future for this team as conference play starts up this weekend.”

Freshman right-hander Daniel Kasian came in as closer and retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the ninth to collect his first collegiate save, ending the game with a final score of 5-3.

With momentum on their side, the Bishops hosted Ohio Northern at Littick Field the following day, April 4, at to continue non-conference play before starting their conference schedule.

“I believe that we are beginning to learn what it takes to win ballgames,” senior Ben Steele said.
“We are a young team, so we are learning from our mistakes while playing hard.”

Unlike their last game, the Bishops didn’t wait until the end to make a dramatic finish—instead they came out of the gates running.

They scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back, increasing their lead up to 10-3 by the end of the fifth inning.

Vollenweider continued doing well, going 3-5 from the plate and driving in three runs to help the Bishops to back-to-back victories.

Other contributors to the 14-5 victory were senior Zach Bott, who went 2-4 from the plate with a double and one run batted in, and freshman Taylor Hutchinson, who collected three hits and had a double and a triple during his at-bats.