Yellow Jackets Baseball drops pair to Transylvania

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets dropped a pair of games to Transylvania on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the second Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series of the season for Defiance. The Yellow Jackets (7-11, 1-5 HCAC) fell to Transylvania (10-10, 4-2 HCAC) 12-0 in game one and 10-2 in game two.

Game one started rough for the Yellow Jackets as Transylvania scored four runs in the top of the first and never looked back. Things settled down for starter Darin Waterman in the second inning until Transylvania found the scoreboard again in the fifth inning.

In the fifth, Transylvania took advantage of mistakes by the Yellow Jackets in the field and put together timely hitting to score seven runs. Waterman picked up the loss, allowing the first eight from Transylvania. Nick Ewalt gave up three runs in relief as well.

Matt Goodpaster pitched 2.1 innings of shutout baseball and Drew Weber closed out the final two innings, giving up one run.

The story of game one was the no hitter for Transylvania's Braden Johnson. Defiance nearly broke up the no hitter in the ninth Aaron Helland hit a line drive that was headed for left center to lead off the ninth until the second baseman made a leaping grab to pull it down.

Early in the game, Gary Levengood reached on an error to third base. In the next at bat, he was forced out at second after a shallow fly ball dropped in between the shortstop, center fielder and left fielder on what ended up being a fielder's choice.

DC continued to put the ball in play, striking out just five times, but were unable to find gabs in the Pioneers defense.

In game two, Defiance was the first one on the scoreboard after plating a run in the bottom of the first.

Waterman reached base with a two-out single and then took second on a balk. Levengood brought him home with a RBI single to left field.

The lead was short lived as Transylvania scored in the top of the second to tie the game at one. In the third inning, Defiance fell behind 3-1 after an error in right field allowed Trey Simpson of Transylvania to round the bases and score on a single.

Pat Masopust got one of the two runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning with his first home run of the season, knocking a ball deep over the right field fence.

It was the closest that DC would get back to Transylvania, however, as the Pioneers answered with two runs in the fifth, before one in the sixth and then four more runs in the seventh inning.

Matt Clark (0-2) picked up the loss in the game, after giving up five runs, four earned, in five innings.

Defiance totaled eight hits in game two. Waterman and Levengood each finished with two hits in the game.

The Yellow Jackets will return to action Tuesday with a single game against rival Bluffton. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at Rutter Field.