Lehman Plates Three to Propel Jackets Past MSJ

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Yellow Jackets plated three runs in the sixth inning to break open a 3-3 tie and Andy Habecker held Mount St. Joseph scoreless over the final three frames to preserve a 6-3 victory for DC in Friday's series opener at Craig A. Rutter Field.

After the start of the game was delayed one hour due to a passing storm, Defiance grabbed leads of 1-0 and 3-1 in the opening four innings. The Mount battled back with single tallies in the fifth and sixth to draw even at 3-3.

Despite scratching out three runs, Defiance did not record its first hit of the game until Darin Waterman led off the sixth with a double off the left-center field fence. Brent James would then beat out an infield single to put runners on the corners, before stealing second base and drawing a throwing error by the MSJ catcher that allowed Waterman to trot home with the eventual game-winning score.

The Jackets did not stop there however, as David Riley singled up the middle and later came home with James on a two-run single to right field off the bat of Bryn Lehman that gave Defiance the 6-3 cushion.

Habecker would make the lead stand, setting the Lions down in order in the seventh and not allowing an MSJ runner to reach scoring position in any of the final three innings.

Habecker's three scoreless innings earned the save and came on the heels of six strong innings from Stephen Leskow, who limited MSJ to two earned runs on four hits to notch the victory.

Lehman drove in three runs to fuel the Defiance offense, while Alex Timofeev scored twice. James and Riley also chipped in with one hit, one run scored and one RBI.

Defiance (6-30, 2-19 HCAC) and Mount St. Joseph (19-19, 12-11 HCAC) will wrap up the series on Saturday with a doubleheader. The start time has been pushed up to 11:00 am and DC will recognize its senior class of Timofeev, Dan Samuels and Matt Kaighin prior to the start of play.