March 15 Picciano and Zizelman Shine in Pair of Tough-Luck Losses

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.  --  Defiance got two of its best pitching performances of the year from Nick Picciano and Dustin Zizelman, but several costly defensive miscues combined with a lack of clutch hitting led to 6-3 and 2-0 losses against Saint Mikes on Thursday.

The Jackets countered two first-inning runs from St. Mikes in the opener with single tallies in the second, third and fifth innings to take the 3-2 advantage.

The lead did not last long however, as a pair of two-out errors in the top half of the sixth opened the floodgates for four unearned runs and the eventual 6-3 win for St. Mikes.

Picciano scattered seven hits over 5.2 innings of work and allowed five runs, with only one coming via the earned variety. The sophomore hurler has been solid in his two starts this season, racking up 12 innings of work and a 3.00 earned run average.

Lenny Koesters led the offense with two hits, two runs and three stolen bases, while David Jackson drove in a pair of runs and Tim Pitro added one RBI and a steal.                   

The second game presented a different set of circumstances for Defiance as the lineup littered the base paths with runners for all seven innings but failed to push anyone across.

DC hit into three double plays in the game, with one coming in the first, third and fourth innings and also mounted threats in the sixth and seventh frames before leaving runners stranded.

Zizelman tossed a gem from the mound for Defiance, holding St. Mikes to three hits and two runs in six innings of work. The sophomore piled up 10 strikeouts in the complete game performance.

Defiance (3-6) will close out its time at Port Charlotte on Friday with a single game against Stevens Tech starting at 9:00 am.