Freshmen Bats Fuel DC Victory in High-Scoring Affair

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Yellow Jacket baseball team got back on the winning track on Tuesday afternoon, as Defiance defeated its arch-rival, Bluffton University, in a 14-8 victory. DC was led by a trio of freshmen hitters in Ben Weber, Ryan Kohlhofer and Gary Levingood, who combined for eight hits and eight RBIs.

The game got off to a shaky start for the Purple and Gold. The team took a while to adjust to the cold, windy conditions, as Defiance combined for three errors in the first two frames, leading to three runs, all unearned.

The Jackets broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the third, as DC plated two runs due to two Bluffton errors. The runs cut the Beaver lead to one at 3-2.

In the following inning, the Purple and Gold grabbed its first lead of the game, off to a two-run Kohlhofer double to give the Jackets a 4-3 advantage after four innings.

Bluffton wasted no time in striking back. The Beavers fought back to regain the lead in the top of the fifth inning, as BU answered the Jackets with two runs of its own to regain the lead at 5-4.

DC junior Darin Waterman tied the game with one swing of the bat in the bottom half of the fifth, as the designated hitter hit a solo-homerun, his second bomb of the season to knot the game back up at 5-5. After a Habecker single, Joel Musser laced a double into left field to plate the go-ahead run in Habecker. Two batters later Weber ripped a triple into the right-center gap to drive in the third run of the inning, giving the Jackets a 7-5 lead that the team would not relinquish.

After a scoreless sixth inning for both sides, the Jackets added four more runs in the bottom half of the seventh to give DC an insurmountable lead at 11-5. Each team added three more runs on the way to a 14-8 Yellow Jacket victory.

Despite giving up six runs to Bluffton batters, DC starting pitcher Aaron Patterson went eight strong innings, scattering nine hits and allowing only one run with no walks in the outing. Patterson's victory was his third of the season, the most of any Yellow Jacket pitcher.

In the win, Defiance recorded a season-high 17 hits, eight for extra bases, in just eight innings of at bats. The Jackets' offense also recorded its best run output of the year with 14 runs. This is the first time this season the Purple and Gold scored ten or more runs in a game.

With the victory, the Jackets' record improves to 9-7 on the season and 3-4 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Defiance is back on the diamond on Wednesday, April 3, as the team travels to Trine for a non-conference matchup.