DC Baseball Scores 12-Inning Victory at Hanover

HANOVER, Ind. – Defiance outlasted Hanover in Sunday's series finale, using a five-run outburst in the top of the 12th inning to secure a 12-7 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest.

Jonathan Murphy began the decisive inning with a leadoff single and Chris Donese followed by reaching on an error. The Jackets went on to load the bases with two outs, before Andy Habecker swatted an RBI single to give Defiance the 8-7 lead. DC would continue the two-out rally with a two-run single from Joel Musser and a two-run double off the bat of Aaron Helland to push the spread to 12-7 in favor of the Purple and Gold.

The five-run rally was enough to seal a victory for the Jackets, as Alex Schomaeker shut the Panthers down in order in the bottom of the 12th to ice the 12-7 win.

The scoreless frame marked the end of a 13-out relief performance from the Defiance closer, who picked up his first win of the season by limiting Hanover to one run over 4.1 innings of work. Schomaeker (1-1) picked up two strikeouts and held HC to two hits in his longest collegiate outing on the bump.

Ryan McLaughlin preceded Schomaeker to the hill out of the Defiance bullpen, holding Hanover to one unearned run and one hit over his 4.1 efficient frames.

Murphy led the Jackets at the plate with the first three-hit showing of his career, while Bryn Lehman, Darin Waterman, Brad Kremer and Habecker each ended the afternoon with two hits. Musser and Helland each knocked in three runs in the win.

Defiance (12-23, 5-15 HCAC) will return to Rutter Field for the final time this season, when it welcomes Heidelberg (22-15, 9-7 OAC) for a non-conference affair on Tuesday, May 1. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm.