Baseball Splits Twinbill Against MSJ on Senior Day

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  The Defiance College baseball team split a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Mount St. Joseph University to end the series on senior day.  The Yellow Jackets captured the first game, 5-4, but lost the second, 4-2, in a rain shortened nightcap.

In game one, Mount St. Joseph (20-17, 9-15 HCAC) grabbed the early lead with two runs in the top of the second inning.  The Lions then added a run in the fourth and fifth innings to increase the margin to 4-0.  

The deficit remained four runs until the bottom of the eighth when Defiance (17-19, 10-13 HCAC) scored its first run thanks to a RBI-base hit by freshman Troy Konwinski (Allen Park, Mich./Allen Park) with bases loaded.  The Yellow Jackets went on to plate three more runs in the inning on a double by freshman Michael Gilliland (Napoleon) that scored two runs and a wild pitch to even the score at 4-4.

Following a scoreless top of the ninth, DC got runners on first and second base with one out.  Freshman Tanner Stippich (Lima/Allen East) then reached on a fielder's choice, but an errant through on an attempted double play by MSJ in the same sequence, allowed senior Gary Levengood (Beverly Hills, Fla./Lecanto) to score from second base giving the Jackets a 5-4 come-from-behind victory.

DC outhit MSJ, 13-9, in game one with a trio of players recording three hits.  Konwinski and Gilliland both finished three-of-four at the plate.  Konwinski also added a run scored and RBI, while Gilliland also drove in a pair of runs.  Levengood went three-of-five and scored two runs.  Senior Ryan Kohlhofer (Walbridge/Lake) also recorded a multi-hit game going two-of-five overall.

Junior pitcher Nick Peters (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) pitched a complete game and picked up his fourth win of the season to improve to 4-3 overall.  He allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out eight batters.

In game two, Defiance struck first with a run in the bottom of the third inning on a wild pitch that allowed junior Zack Reed (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) to score from second base.  The Yellow Jackets added another run in the fifth thanks to back-to-back doubles by Stippich and Konwinski to make the score 2-0.  But in the top of the sixth, the MSJ offense struck for four runs to move ahead, 4-2.  

MSJ maintained its two-run lead after seven complete innings and the game was then called due to rain and worsening field conditions, giving the Lions the 4-2 win.

Defiance ended game two with four hits, all by different players.  Reed went one-of-two to go along with a run scored.  Kohlhofer, Stippich and Konwinski all finished one-of-three.  Stippich also had a run scored and Konwinski had a RBI.

On the mound, junior Nick Watkins (Lima/Central Catholic) pitched all seven innings, but suffered the loss and is now 5-3 overall for the year.  He allowed four runs on six hits and had three strikeouts.

Defiance is scheduled to host Bluffton University on Tuesday, May 3 in a HCAC single game and the home finale.  The first pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.