In the first game of a doubleheader, Oberlin rallied from an early deficit and got solid relief pitching out of the bullpen to preserve a 5-4 win over Wittenberg.

Avon’s Phil Brua celebrated his birthday by earning a four-out save for his fourth save of the season.

After the rocky first inning Western Reserve graduate Brandon Cantrill (2-1) settled down as he got through 4 1/3 innings to earn his second win of the season. Following the first inning, the Tigers managed just three hits off of the senior.

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From left to right: Phil Brua, Brandon Cantrill, Grady Campion

First-year baseball head coach Adrian Abrahamowicz has announced that seniors Phil Brua, of Avon, Brandon Cantrill, of Western Reserve, and Grady Campion will serve as team captains for the upcoming season.

"All three of these guys display the leadership qualities and work ethic to guide our team in the right direction," Abrhamowicz said. "I fully expect them to be positive influences on everyone in and around our program."

The Yeomen, who are coming off the best season in school history, return eight seniors who are poised to lead the team to its first-ever NCAC Tournament appearance.

Brua, who was a First-Team All-NCAC selection and Third-Team Great Lakes Region honoree, was simply dominant on the mound for the Yeomen in 2010. Brua set the school record for saves in a season (six) and tied the Oberlin mark for wins with a record of 6-3.

Cantrill was only one of two players to start in all 37 games last season. As the Yeomen’s main catcher he finished second on the team with a .328 batting average. He led the team with four home runs, while finishing second in slugging percentage (.543) and hits (38).

The Yeomen will begin their season on March 5 at Transylvania.

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Phil Brua shown pitching

Four Oberlin College baseball players were honored by the North Coast Athletic Conference, the league office announced on Tuesday.

Highlighting the honorees were All-NCAC First-Team selections Avon’s Phil Brua and Ben Puterbaugh. Western Reserve’s Brandon Cantrill and Jack Dunn garnered honorable-mention accolades.

Brua dominated on the mound this season as he set the school record for saves in a season (six) and tied the Oberlin mark for wins with a record of 6-3. His 2.78 ERA was third best in the league, while his opposition batting average of .227 tied for tops in the NCAC.

The sidearm specialist recorded almost nine strikeouts per nine innings. He totaled a team-high 55 innings, while making a school-record 22 appearances and racking up 50 strikeouts along the way.

Cantrill was the main backstop for the Yeomen and finished second on the team with a .328 batting average. He led the team with four home runs and joined Puterbaugh as the only players to start all 37 games. He finished second on the team in hits (38) and slugging (.543).

Last week, Brua pitched a two-hit complete-game shutout against Allegheny College to keep Oberlin alive for a postseason berth in the NCAC Tournament.

However, Oberlin lost the last three games, finishing the season 18-19 overall and 8-8 in the NCAC East, and missed qualifying for its first ever NCAC Tournament appearance. The 18 wins by the Yeomen surpasses that of the 2007 squad that finished 17-23 overall. The eight conference wins is also the most since 1986 when Oberlin finished 9-11 in league play.

Brua (6-2) took a no-hitter into sixth inning before giving up a single. He allowed just one more hit the rest of the way and struck out eight batters in the game.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

On July 1, it will become official.

Lorain Catholic graduate Adrian Abrahamowicz has been named the head baseball coach-in-waiting at Oberlin College, replacing Amherst graduate Eric Lahetta, who has been at the helm for 13 years.

Since joining the Yeomen staff in 2005, Abrahamowicz has served as pitching coach and has managed the offense while coaching third base. During the last three seasons, he has also served as the associate head coach and team’s recruiting coordinator. He is largely responsible for bringing in some of the deepest classes in program history.

“It’s a really exciting time for me, because I’ve had an opportunity to help build the program as a recruiting coordinator,” Abrahamowicz said. “I feel like I’ve got a head start on things I wanted to do. Coach Lahetta has always been a guy that let me do my thing recruiting. We’ve been able to build a program, rather than come into a situation where you’re walking into a program that you’re not familiar with. I’m familiar with the school. I’m familiar with the reputation of the school, the type of kids we have to recruit academically and are going to fit in our baseball program.”

Abrahamowicz, a Tiffin University graduate, coached at Lorain Catholic in 2004 — the school’s last year — and was the assistant coach from 1996 to 2000 at the now-defunct school. He also coached at Elyria Catholic in 1995.

“I’m a little more of a direct guy than Eric, but at the same time, he has given me the flexibility to be the type of coach that I am,” Abrahamowicz said. “I’ve been able to do a lot of things from within the start and now it’s time for us to reap the benefits. A lot of what were doing is a credit to Coach Lahettta as well.”

Abrahamowicz will be replacing Lahetta, who will be taking on a new role as the assistant athletic director — a job that will allow him to spend more time with his family.

His wife Becky Lahetta (Kanuch) is the girls’ soccer coach at Oberlin High School. His daughter Mackenzie plays soccer and basketball at Firelands, his son Cody runs track at South Amherst Middle School and he also has a one-year-old son named Chase.

Lahetta, a 1986 Amherst graduate, originally went to Ohio Wesleyan to play football and baseball after high school. He then transferred to Bowling Green and played baseball for two years for the Falcons after making the team as a walk-on. He went to work as a director of stadium operations with the Canton-Akron Indians before taking the job as pitching coach at Oberlin College for two years before taking the head position.

“I’m looking forward to new challenges,” Lahetta said. “I’ll be doing some new things and learning some things. I’ve been prepping myself over the last 13 years to do this so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Lahetta is confident in the baseball program he helped build.“Adrian has done a great job,” Lahetta said. “He’s been my right-hand man for the last six years. The last three years, we’ve been prepping him to be head coach. Baseball-wise, he’s as good as anyone around here. He’s done everything we’ve asked as an assistant coach. It’s his time to be a head coach.

“I feel like as a head coach that I’ve done a pretty good job of turning the program around and getting it to a point where were very competitive and I think Adrian is the guy to take it to the next level.”

Abrahamowicz is excited about the future of the Yeomen, especially juniors Phil Brua (Avon), Brandon Cantrill (Western Reserve), Ben Puterbaugh (Massillon Jackson), Ben Kauder (St. John’s Jesuit) and Ryan Mouch (St. John’s Jesuit).

Oberlin opens up its season on March 12, when they play a doubleheader at Berea College. They then will travel to Marysville, Tenn. to play back-to-back doubleheaders against Marysville College in the Foothills Classic.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Admiral King’s P.J. Carter capped off his baseball career at Oberlin College, being named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Honorable-Mention Team, announced on Wednesday.

Carter won the award as a pitcher, but was also a big contributor at the plate as he finished second on the Yeomen in doubles (nine) and RBIs (22). On the mound, Carter made 12 relief appearances, earning a 2-0 record with three saves. In 21 2/3 innings pitched, Carter recorded 18 strikeouts and walked only five.

Carter officially ended his college career last week, working two scoreless innings to pick up the win for Oberlin, as they split a doubleheader with Hiram in the last games of the season.

The Terriers walked-off in the bottom of the seventh in game one to win 6-5, but the Yeomen used a big sixth inning to prevail in the nightcap, 11-7.

In the game two win, Western Reserve’s Brandon Cantrill hit a two-run double in the first inning and added an RBI single in the third to pace Oberlin, who improved to 15-25 on the season, two wins shy of the season-record of 17, set in 2007.

Avon’s Phil Brua also added an RBI single. He also threw 2 1/3 innings in relief in the game one loss. He was tagged with the loss, despite allowing just three hits and one run.

Carter leaves Oberlin as their all-time single-season saves leader, as well as hitting 10 career home runs as designated hitter.

Brua, a sophomore, went 3-6 on the mound in 10 starts. He pitched two complete games and struck out 36.

Cantrill, a sophomore catcher, batted .302 in 38 starts with seven doubles, 11 stolen bases, 14 runs and 24 RBIs. He also went 1-0 as a pitcher, pitching 9 1/3 innings in four appearances.

Sophomore Max Phinney (Oberlin) and freshman Jared Ramirez (Brookside) have also gotten some playing time. Phinney has made 14 appearances, including four starts and batted .190. Ramirez, who also played on the basketball team in the winter, has made 10 appearances, pitching 8 1/3 innings with six strikeouts.

Also joining Oberlin’s baseball team next season are Clearview's John Rosser and Midview's Nick Miller. Rosser will also play football.

Oberlin’s head coach is Amherst graduate Eric Lahetta, while Lorain Catholic grad Adrian Abrahamowicz is the assistant.

swalker@MorningJournal.com