Yellow Jackets Sweep Salem State to Finish Gene Cusic Classic

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Defiance College baseball program finished its spring break trip in fine fashion on Friday, as the Purple and Gold swept Salem State by scores of 4-1 and 8-6 to finish with a record of 4-3 on the trip and improve its season record to 6-3.

The Jackets were carried by its pitching in the first game of the two-game series, as junior Darin Waterman turned in another gem of a performance. Waterman followed up his complete game shutout on Monday by tossing five innings against the Vikings, while only giving up one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts on his way to his second-consecutive win.

Relief pitchers Andy Habecker and Alex Schomaeker picked up right where Waterman left off and shut the door on the Salem State bats, as the two combined to throw two innings of shutout baseball in the sixth and seventh to finish the game.

Chris Donese and Aaron Helland led the offensive attack for Defiance in game one. Donese recorded a game-high three hits and swiped two bases, while Helland added two hits of his own and matched Donese in the stolen base department with two steals.

After the Jacket pitchers dominated game one, the Purple and Gold bats carried DC to a win in game two of the doubleheader. Defiance found itself in a quick 3-0 hole entering the bottom of the second inning. The Yellow Jackets responded with one run in the second and two in the third to tie the game at 3-3 after three innings of play.

The DC bats erupted for four runs in the fourth inning to break the game open at 7-3 with three innings remaining.

The Vikings clawed their way back and cut the Yellow Jacket lead to just one at 7-6 after the top of the sixth. Defiance then answered with a run of its own to extend its lead to two at 8-6 after six innings of play.

The DC bullpen once again stymied the Salem State offense in the late innings, as Schomaeker picked up his second save of the day after the senior tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

The Purple and Gold offense was carried by a trio of hitters in game two. Waterman, the ace of game one, recorded two hits and two RBIs, while the freshman duo of Gary Levengood and Ryan Kohlhofer each produced two hits and an RBI in the contest.

The Yellow Jackets will open up their home regular season slate of games on Tuesday, March 19, as the Purple and Gold hosts Ohio Northern in a non-conference matchup. The game is set to start at 4:15 p.m.