In the city of Ashland, there are a few surefire signs of spring. The sun shines, the breeze picks up and Jake Baldwin dominates on the mound.

At Donges Field on Saturday, spring was in full bloom.

The Eagles defeated the Walsh University Cavaliers 8-2 behind the dominant performance by Baldwin, and a consistent offensive effort from the entire lineup.

Each inning had an Eagle reach base, with a three-run third inning to regain the lead after the Cavaliers scored an unearned run in the top half of the inning. A five-run fifth provided all the insurance the Eagles needed to secure a victory, even with the one run tacked on in the sixth from the Cavaliers.

Leadoff man and second baseman Stephen James led the offense for the Eagles, going 3-4 on the day with a double and two runs scored. Left fielder Kyle Brooks drove in a team-high three runs, and designated hitter Blake Bellman and third baseman Mike Lewandowski each drove in two runs.

This was more than enough offense for Baldwin, who moved to 7-0 on the season with the win. He allowed only one earned run and two hits while striking out four and walking two.

Neither team got much going in the first two innings until the top of the third when an error by Baldwin allowed Jason McPeek, Walsh’s center fielder, to reach first. A sacrifice bunt by Walsh’s shortstop Tyson Lautanen advanced McPeek to second before a two-out single to center field by second baseman James Thomas scored McPeek. 

Ashland would respond in the bottom half of the third with three runs. James got the inning started with a single to left, and Mackenzie Hampshire advanced him to second when he was walked by Walsh’s starting pitcher Jared Bettura, who fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss. 

With two men on base, Bellman singled to right to score James, with Hampshire advancing to third. Bellman advanced to second on the throw to third.

With men on second and third, the table was set for Brooks to deliver, which he did with a single to center, scoring Bellman and Hampshire.

The game would stay 3-1 until the bottom of the fifth when the Eagles sent eight to the plate in a five-run fifth. 

The inning got started again with a James single, this one to center. He advanced to third on a Hampshire single. The next batter up, Bellman, hit a single to left center, scoring James and advancing Hampshire to third. 

Brooks drove in Hampshire with a sinking liner that got past the Walsh right fielder Andrew Bonnette, advancing Bellman to third. Lewandowski hit a single down the third base line, scoring two. An error by Walsh left fielder Johnny Knight allowed him to advance to third, where he would score on an Austin Walts sacrifice fly.

Walsh tried to rally in the top of the sixth. Walsh’s leadoff man Thomas was walked, and Bonnette hit an infield single that was mishandled by James. A wild pitch advanced Thomas to third, who scored on first baseman Andrew Stalnaker’s groundout to short. Baldwin retired two of the next three batters to end the inning before sending down the bottom third of Walsh’s lineup in order to end the seven inning game.

Game two of the day did not come up on the Eagles side.  The Cavaliers defeated the Eagles 5-4. Of AU’s 11 losses this season, seven have been by a single run.  

Ashland took a two run lead after three innings on a two run homer by junior Joey Gonzalez, although Walsh responded with two runs of their own at the top of the fourth.  

The Eagles were able to tie the game at three in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly from Hampshire. The Cavs responded with two runs scored in the top of the seventh and did not allow the eagles to catch up from there.  

The Eagles are ranked No. 20 in Division II currently with a 27-11 overall and 16-6 conference record.  They head to face Malone this weekend.