Baseball Edged by Mount St. Joseph

CINCINNATI, OHIO  --  The Defiance College baseball team surrendered four runs in the eighth inning that led to a 5-2 loss against Mount St. Joseph University in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series opener.

The game remained scoreless until the third inning when both teams scored runs.  Defiance (12-22, 9-12 HCAC) scored its run on a single by freshman Everett Kissel (Defiance/Tinora) that scored senior Zack Reed (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) from second base.  

The Yellow Jackets broke the stalemate in the top of the fifth inning when Reed drove in a run on a single, scoring sophomore Tyler Weaver (Defiance) and making the score 2-1.

The lead remained a run for DC until the eighth when MSJ (18-16, 12-9) tallied four runs to move ahead, 5-2.  Defiance began the top of the ninth with back-to-back strikeouts.  Weaver then got on base with a single, but before the team could plate any runs, the Lions tallied the game-ending out on another strikeout to preserve the 5-2 victory.

Defiance ended the game with six hits with Reed and Kissel recording multi-hit games.  Reed went two-of-three with a run scored and RBI.  Kissel had a pair of hits in four at-bats and also had a RBI.

Senior Nick Peters (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) started the game on the mound for the Jackets and pitched 7.2 innings allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits and had five strikeouts.  He was also given the loss and is now 5-4 overall forr the season.  Sophomore Paris Creek (Bryan) pitched the final third of an inning and gave up an unearned run on two hits and also had a strikeout.

Defiance will take on MSJ tomorrow (Sunday, Apr. 30) with a doubleheader to conclude the series.  The first game is scheduled to begin at noon at Marge Schott Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.