Quartet of Homers Thrusts Baseball Past Manchester

NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. - Big hitting from the Defiance College baseball team saw the Yellow Jackets take two pivotal HCAC contests on Tuesday afternoon. DC defeated Manchester 14-7 and 7-3 in the doubleheader action. 

Four separate times during the day's action the Yellow Jacket dugout rose to their feet to celebrate a ball leaving Manchester's Gratz Field. Ben Bucklew (Archbold) and Michael Reese (Constantine, Mich. / Constantine) each tallied one home run, while Troy Konwinski (Allen Park, Mich. / Allen Park) knocked two out of the park. 

After a back-and-forth affair through the first five innings, the Purple and Gold were ready to score at will. After a Reese single and a Michael Gilliland (Napoleon) double, Lucas Thomeier (Wickliffe) singled to left, bringing in the first run of the sixth inning. 

Garrett Sierra (Defiance) hit a two-run double, while Bucklew tallied one as well. Konwinski proceeded to bring Bucklew home to give the Yellow Jackets a major inning. DC wasn't done yet. With Jude Neary (Toledo / Cardinal Stritch Catholic) and Nate Kaffenbarger (DeGraff / Indian Lake) each reaching, Reese hit one straight up center and over the fence to bring in three more runs. 

On the mound, Daniel Tomalak (Tecumseh, Mich. / Clinton) picked up the win for the Purple and Gold. The sophomore went 3.1 innings, allowing just two hits, while striking out two. 

After putting up 18 hits in game one, the Yellow Jackets were poised to continue their power hitting. Coach Derek Woodley's side promptly tallied 14 more hits in game two, highlighted by the second Konwinski homer of the day. 

With a narrow 3-2 lead after six innings, the Yellow Jackets struck once more, this time tallying three crucial runs. 

Gilliland knocked another double into the outfield, scoring Reese, before Thomeier doubled to bring home the senior and Kaffenbarger. 

A strong performance from Jon Brown (Haskins / Ostego) on the mound saw the junior pick up his third win of the year. Going eight and a third innings, allowing eight hits, and striking out two was enough to hold the Spartans to three runs. 

With the duo of victories, Defiance improves to 15-10-1 on the season and 5-5 in the HCAC. DC will return to action Wednesday, April 17 as they host Ohio Wesleyan for a nonconference game beginning at 4:00 pm.