TUCSON, Ariz. – The Carleton College baseball team erased a pair of deficits on its way to defeating Oberlin College, 6-5, in the Knights' final spring break game. Aaron Rice (So./Evergreen, Colo./Colorado Academy) provided the winning margin with his two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning.
 
Oberlin (5-6) solved Carleton (4-7) southpaw AJ Staff (Sr./Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge) for a two-out run in the second inning and an unearned tally in the third.
 
The Knights inched ahead in the bottom of the third frame. Luke Mager (Sr./Berkeley, Calif./Berkeley) walked, and Sam Chutkow (Fy./Needham, Mass./Needham) singled through the right side. After a pair of strikeouts, Ananth Iyer (So./Redmond, Wash./Overlake) delivered a clutch two-run double down the left-field line. Jack Hommeyer (So./Bronxville, N.Y./Suffield Academy) followed immediately with an RBI single to left.
 
The Yeomen elbowed their way back in front, 4-3, with single tallies in the fifth and seventh frames only to see Carleton knot the score when Rice scored an unearned run via a pair of Oberlin errors in the bottom of the seventh.
 
A walk to Hommeyer and single by Sam Zacks (So./Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) preceded Rice's two-run base hit in the eighth.
 
Staff worked into the ninth but was lifted following a one-out doubles. Will Schnepf (Fy./Dallas, Texas/Parish Episcopal) recorded the final two outs for his first save.
 
Staff picked up his first victory of the season, allowing four earned runs with five strikeouts over 8.2 innings.
 
After dropping their first two games in Arizona, the Knights have alternated wins and losses over the last seven contests.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton returns home and is slated to face Crown College in a non-conference game on Sunday, April 2.