McLaughlin’s Pitching Seals Series Sweep of Quakers

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Yellow Jackets improved to a record of 17-10 on Sunday afternoon with its win over Earlham by a final score of 7-3. The 17 wins are the most for the Purple and Gold in the last 14 seasons when the squad won 19 games in the spring of 1999.

Senior starting pitcher Ryan McLaughlin had a memorable performance in what was most likely his final time taking the mound at Craig A. Rutter stadium wearing the Purple and Gold. The senior tossed his first-career complete game and did not give up any runs through the first eight innings on his way to recording his second win of the season.

After a scoreless first two innings, the Jackets opened up the scoring with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth.

Defiance's Chris Donese scored the game's first run off an Earlham wild pitch. This was the third DC run of the series that came off of wild pitch. The Purple and Gold's Joel Musser drove in Darin Waterman later in the third to give DC a 2-0 lead.

In the fourth frame the Jackets recorded four hits to score two runs. Jonathan Murphy and Aaron Helland both drove in runs in the inning.

Defiance added a run in the sixth and two in the eighth to increase the lead to 7-0 heading into the ninth.

McLaughlin retired the first two batters in the ninth and was one out away from his first career shutout. The Earlham bats then came alive and scored three runs before the senior finished off his complete game. The starter struck out five, the most in a single game in his career.

The DC offense finished with 15 hits, marking the third time this weekend the team has recorded double-digit hit totals. Helland and Donese, the Jackets' one and two hitters, led the way for the squad, as each had three hits and combined for four RBIs and two runs.

With the victory, the Yellow Jackets swept the Quakers in the series for the first time since Earlham joined the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2010. The Jackets conference record moves to 10-7, the most wins in the Heartland since the 2004 season.

DC plays its final home game of the season on Tuesday, April 23, as the Jackets host No. 9 Manchester University in an HCAC matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.