Jackets Use Three-Run Ninth to Stun Franklin in Home Opener

DEFIANCE, Ohio  --  Defiance rallied from 3-0 and 4-2 deficits and scored three in the bottom of the ninth to record its second come-from-behind victory in as many games with a 5-4 win over Franklin on Friday at Rutter Field. The win is the first of the year for the Yellow Jackets in HCAC action.

Tim Pitro and Phil Kosier got the ninth-inning rally started with back-to-back singles to open the frame, and DC then continued the inning on a pair of defensive miscues by Franklin.

Defiance loaded the bases with one out when the Grizzlies failed to handle an infield squibber off the bat of David Jackson and trimmed the deficit to 4-3 when FCs closer, Eric Williams, muffed a comebacker off the bat of Lenny Koesters.

Williams recovered to fan the next DC hitter before Kirk Jesse roped a base hit down the left field line for the game-winning, two-out, two-run hit to lift the Yellow Jackets to the 5-4 victory.                             

Brandon Portales (1-0) pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief for his first collegiate win. The rookie southpaw sat down all seven batters he faced, including one via the strikeout.

DCs starter, Nick Picciano, worked a solid 6.2 innings, scattering eight hits and three walks and allowing only three earned runs.

Koesters, Mike Hill and Pitro each had a pair of hits for Defiance and Jesse had the two key RBIs and scored a run.

The teams traded zeroes through the first three innings until Franklin put up two runs in the fourth and tacked on another in the fifth for the 3-0 advantage. DC got right back into the game in the sixth as Koesters and Jesse came in on RBI hits off the bats of Hill and Pitro. The lead swelled to 4-2 for FC with another single tally in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for the thrilling ninth-inning heroics from the Yellow Jackets.

Defiance (6-9, 1-3 HCAC) will have two more games with Franklin at Rutter Field on Saturday, with the first pitch slated for noon.