Jackets Rout Wilmington to Open Florida Trip

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla, - Tim Pitro homered and drove in four runs to lead Defiance to a 12-2 victory against Wilmington on Monday afternoon to open up the squad's 2010 Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida. 

The 12 runs were more than enough for Nicholas Bratt on the hill, as the sophomore hurler escaped a rocky first inning to give the Yellow Jackets seven strong frames. Bratt issued four walks in the first inning and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, before settling in to earn the win in his first collegiate start. Bratt ended the day with two runs allowed on four hits and six walks, while striking out five. 

The DC pen slammed the door with a pair of scoreless frames, as Pat McKee tossed a scoreless eighth inning, before Clinton Hoskins worked a perfect ninth to preserve the Defiance victory. 

The DC lineup was clicking on all cylinders and quickly erased the 1-0 deficit with single tallies in the first and second, before blowing the game open with two runs each in the third and fourth innings. The Jackets then tacked on three-run rallies in the sixth and seventh innings to cap the 12-run outburst. 

Pitro accounted for four of DC's 13 hits on the afternoon, going 4-for-5 at the dish with four RBI, a double and a three-run blast. Keith Wade and Casey Kahsen each had a pair of hits an drove in one run, while Alex Schomaeker swatted a two-run single. 

Defiance (1-1) will be back in action on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Muskingum starting at 10:00 am.