Late Game Pushes not Enough as Baseball Drops HCAC Double

RICHMOND, IND. - A sunny Saturday in Indiana saw Defiance baseball take on HCAC foe Earlham College in doubleheader fashion. The Quakers swept DC on their home turf, winning game one 9-6 and game two 7-4.  

The home side jumped to an early lead in game one, plating four runs in the first. DC posted their first run of the game in the second as Grant Vickery (Bellevue) singled to bring home Michael Gilliland (Napoleon). 

The Yellow Jackets put up two more runs in the second via a Troy Konwinski (Allen Park, Mich. / Allen Park) two-run double down the right field line. 

After a scoring drought, DC posted their strongest inning in the eighth. With Ben Bucklew (Archbold) and Konwinski on, Jude Neary (Toldeo / Cardinal Stritch Catholic) doubled to bring in the first run of the inning. In the next at-bat, Michael Reese (Constantine, Mich. / Constantine) continued his stretch of strong performances. The sophomore hit a double to right field, bringing home Neary and Konwinski. 

Konwinski led the hits category in game one, tallying two. Seven other Yellow Jackets found their way on base via hits in the affair. The senior tallied two RBI alongside Reese. 

In the repeat affair, Earlham once again jumped to a 6-1 lead after the first inning. The Yellow Jackets' first run came after Garrett Sierra (Defiance) doubled before Konwinski hit a sac-fly to drive in his fellow senior. 

DC plated their second run of the game in the seventh inning. Alert base running saw Vickery dash home on an erroneous throw to first base. 

Defiance posted two more runs in the eighth via an error and a Tyler Weaver (Defiance) single. The Yellow Jackets' comeback efforts fell just short as Earlham held onto the three run lead. 

Defiance now stands with a 13-10-1 record, dropping to a 3-5 HCAC record. DC will return to action on Tuesday, April 16, as they travel to HCAC foe Manchester for 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm matchups.