Baseball Wins Series with Doubleheader Sweep

RICHMOND, IND.  --  The Defiance College baseball team swept a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Earlham (Ind.) College, 7-2 and 11-4, to take the three-game series, 2-1, in Richmond, Ind.

In game one, Defiance (15-12, 8-7 HCAC) took the early lead with a run in the top of the first inning by senior Gary Levengood (Beverly Hills, Fla./Lecanto) that was set up by a lead-off double by senior Ryan Kohlhofer (Walbridge/Lake) and a single by sophomore Dom Gentile (Defiance).  

The Yellow Jackets then added to their lead in the fourth with a pair of runs on a double by freshman Tyler Weaver (Defiance) and a single by Kohlhofer to increase the margin to 3-0.  Earlham (20-8, 10-6 HCAC) got on the board with a run in the bottom of the inning to make it a 3-1 ballgame.  

DC broke the game open with a four-run eighth highlighted by a pair of RBI-base hits by Weaver and Levengood giving the Jackets a 7-1 advantage heading into the final inning.  In the bottom of the ninth, the Quakers plated a run on a double play, but that would be all the scoring Earlham would get as Defiance recorded the final out on a fly ball that was caught in foul ground for the 7-2 win.

Defiance had 13 hits in game one with Weaver posting a three-of-five effort with two runs scored and two RBI.  Levengood finished two-of-five to go along with his two RBI.  Junior Zach Reed (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) also had two hits in five trips to the plate and also scored a run.  Kohlhofer and Gentile both went two-of-four with Kohlhofer adding two runs scored and a RBI, while Gentile had a RBI.

Junior Nick Peters (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) pitched a complete game and picked up his second win of the season to improve to 2-3 overall.  He allowed just the two runs on nine hits and struck out five batters.

In the nightcap, the game remained scoreless until the third inning when Defiance crossed homeplate eight times that included a two-RBI double by junior Quinten Harrington (Sandusky/Perkins).  Earlham answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, but still trailed DC, 8-3.  The Jackets kept the offensive surge going with two more runs in the fourth that came on a RBI-double by freshman Michael Gilliand (Napoleon) and a RBI-single by fellow freshman Tyler Stippich (Lima/Allen East) making the score 10-3.  

The score remained the same until the ninth when the two teams traded runs with DC's run coming on a single by Gentile.  Earlham's run came with one out, but the Quakers would hit into a game-ending double play as the Jackets completed the sweep with a final score of 11-4.

The Defiance bats stayed hot in game two with 14 hits.  Weaver finished two-of-four with two runs scored and a RBI.  Kohlhofer, Levengood, Gilliand and senior Ben Weber (Troy/Lehman Catholic) all went two-of-five to round out the multi-hitters.  Kohlhofer and Levengood also scored a run and RBI each.  Gilliand posted a run scored and two RBI and Weber added a run scored.

Junior Nick Watkins (Lima/Central Catholic) got the start on the mound for DC and pitched seven innings to improve to 5-1 overall for the season with the win.  He allowed three runs on six hits and tallied five strikeouts.  Sophomore Jacob Green (Defiance) and senior Chris Douglas (Wixom, Mich./Walled Lake Western) both pitched an inning of relief.  Green allowed no runs or hits, while striking out two batters.  Douglas finished the game and gave up a run and a hit.

Defiance will travel to Bluffton for a second meeting with Bluffton University on Tuesday, Apr. 19 in a HCAC single game.  The first pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.