Baseball Remains Unbeaten After Win and Tie

Fort Myers, Fla. - The Defiance College baseball team continued their spring break action on Thursday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets defeated Rivier and tied with Augustana in exciting fashion to end the day. 

DC came prepared after the off day, quickly jumping to a 4-0 lead over Rivier after just three innings by way of RBIs from Nate Kaffenbarger (DeGraff/Indian Lake), Lucas Thomeier (Wickliffe/Wickliffe), and Jon Brown (Haskisns/Ostego). 

The sixth inning saw the Yellow Jackets put on an offensive show. With two outs, DC found the power to put up five more runs before the final out. 

Cohen Nies (Logansport, Ind./Lewis-Cass) picked up the win on the mound for Defiance. The sophomore allowed just one run on three hits during his seven innings. Nies went on to strike out 13 of the 26 batters he faced on the day. 

In game two, the Yellow Jackets took on perennial division three power Augustana (Ill.). The Vikings struck first, knocking in two runs in the second inning. Coach Derek Woodley's Yellow Jackets felt no intimidation, battling their way to a 3-1 score in the sixth. 

Heading into the ninth inning, DC trailed the Vikings 5-2. Defiance immediately showed they were prepared to complete the comeback as Troy Konwinski (Allen Park, Mich./Allen Park) and Tanner Stippich (Lima/Allen East) hit singles to get on base. Jude Neary (Toledo/Cardinal Stritch Catholic) hit a hard shot to right field to bring in both runners. A wild pitch later brought Neary in to tie the game in dramatic fashion. 

As the sun set in Florida, the game was eventually called due to increasing darkness. The Yellow Jackets move to 5-0-1 on the young season. DC will return to action March 8, at 9:00 am, as they take on Alvernia in the final pair of matchups down south.