XENIA, Ohio – Roosevelt opened its 2025 campaign with two losses to Cedarville on Friday in non-conference action in Ohio.
The Lakers (0-2) struggled to wake up the bats in the opener before a monstrous fifth inning doomed them in a 12-2 loss. The second game was an evenly-matched affair until the Yellowjackets hit a walk-off single for a 2-1 win.
CEDARVILLE 12, ROOSEVELT 2
The Lakers fell into an early hole with a pair of miscues allowing Cedarville to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Keagan Bobbitt settled down to strike out two batters to strand the bases loaded in the opening frame.
Jack Kieffer had Roosevelt's first hit of the game in the second inning, and nearly drove in
Kyle Jannenga after his leadoff walk. However, Jannenga was thrown out at home for the final out of the inning.
The Yellowjackets tacked on two more runs in the third inning, though only two of the four runs charged to Bobbitt were earned. The deficit was 5-0 in the fifth when
James Berry led off with a single into right field. He advanced on
Gavin Millard's two-out single then scored when Cedarville misplayed a grounder from
Andrew Lucas.
Cedarville tacked on seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to ruin all the Lakers' momentum. Yet Roosevelt did score the final run of the game courtesy of a
William Zalabak single in the seventh inning for his first career hit.
CEDARVILLE 2, ROOSEVELT 1
Roosevelt turned to veteran
Omar Abuelhija in the second game, and the senior was everything the Lakers needed. In four innings, Abuelhija allowed just three hits and one run while striking out six, and the one run came in the first inning when a leadoff walk scored while the Lakers turned a double play.
Berry was the catalyst of the Lakers offense in the second game, going 3 for 3 in the second half of the doubleheader. He led off the second inning with a single and made his way to third base before Roosevelt stranded him there. In the fourth, he followed a Jannenga walk with a single that moved the tying run to third base. Kieffer hit the single that scored Jannenga and tied the game, but Berry again found himself on third base.
Kaden Foran threw two innings of relief, striking out three and allowing just three hits. He found himself in a tight bind in the sixth inning with runners on second and third with two away, but he induced a weak groundout to end the inning.
The errors caught up with the Lakers in the bottom of the seventh when a dropped fly ball allowed the leadoff man to reach. Two batters later, the Yellowjackets came through with a single up the middle to earn the walk-off victory.
UP NEXT: The Lakers will complete the series against the Yellowjackets on Saturday with a single game starting at 10 a.m.
