Defiance Baseball Takes Split From Rose-Hulman

TERRE HAUTE, IND.  --  Sophomore pitcher Matt Clark (Sandusky/Perkins) pitched seven shutout innings in game one as the Defiance College baseball team took one of two games against Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology to conclude the three-game series and open Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play in Terre Haute, Ind.

The first game of the day turned into a pitcher's dual as no runs were scored until the top of the eighth inning despite both teams having scoring opportunities earlier in the game.  Defiance (6-5, 1-2 HCAC) finally broke the stalemate in the eighth which began with a lead-off double by senior Chris Donese (Kettering/Fairmont) and would later score from third on a passed ball to put the Yellow Jackets up 1-0.  Rose-Hulman (7-6, 2-1 HCAC) got the potential tying run on base in the bottom of the inning, but the DC defense came up with an inning ending double play to keep the one-run advantage heading into the ninth.  In the bottom of the ninth, DC sat the Fightin Engineers down in order with three straight outs to get the win and preserve a 1-0 shutout.

Senior Matt Staels (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) was the lone DC batter to record multiple hits and went two-of-four overall.  Four other Yellow Jackets each had a base hit.  Donese ended the game one-of-three to go along with the run scored.

Clark claimed his first win of the season on the mound to improve to 1-1 overall.  In seven complete innings, he allowed no runs on seven hits.  Freshman Jacob Green (Defiance) finished the game and was credited with the save, his first of his collegiate career, after giving up just a hit and posted two strikeouts.

In the nightcap, Rose-Hulman jumped out early scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning on a bases clearing double with bases loaded.  The Engineers went on to add another run in the third on a defensive error to increase the margin to 4-0.  Defiance cut into the deficit with a run in the fifth thanks to a RBI-single by sophomore Zack Reed (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) making the score 4-1.  The run turned out to be the only score for the Jackets as Rose-Hulman added three insurance runs, crossing the plate once in the seventh and two more times in the eighth to go on to the 7-1 final.

DC ended the game with six hits with Reed and junior Ben Weber (Troy/Lehman Catholic) combining for four of the hits.  REd fiinshed two-of-three at the plate with a RBI, while Weber was two-of-four.  Junior Gary Levengood (Beverly Hills, Fla./Lecanto) and senior Joel Musser (Center Line, Mich./Center Line) had the other two hits as Levengood was one-of-four and Musser one-of-three.

Senior Aaron Grasing (Carmel, Calif./Carmel) started the game and pitched three innings allowing four runs on eight hits and struck out one batter.  He was also given the loss and drops to 1-1 overall.  Sophomore Nick Peters (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) pitched the final five innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits and had four strikeouts.

Defiance will stay on the road and will travel to Bluffton for a single nine-inning game against rival Bluffton University on Tuesday, Mar. 24.  The first pitched is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.