Baseball wins, then loses in HCAC games at Manchester

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Defiance College baseball team was back on the road to play a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Manchester University Spartans on Saturday, and came away with a split after winning the first game, 6-5, and losing the second, 14-7, at James Gratz Field.

In the opening contest, Manchester scored three times in the first inning before Defiance battled back to take a 4-3 edge after a three-run third. The Spartans tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth inning but the Yellow Jackets took the lead for good, 6-4, with a pair of runs in the fifth before MU added a run in the seventh.

The hosts collected nine hits to DC's six with the guests making three of the contest's four errors. Manchester stranded 11 base runners and Defiance six.

For the Yellow Jackets, Nate Kaffenbarger had two hits and scored twice while freshman Trent Murdock homered. Lane Good provided a two-run single while Lucas Thomeier and Michael Reese each doubled and walked.

On the mound for DC, Cohen Nies started and went four innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts. Daniel Tomalak, who struck out three with one walk, got the win after giving up one earned run over three innings before Zac Brazen pitched two scoreless innings for a save, yielding two hits with three strikeouts and no bases on balls.

Defiance got out to a 3-0 advantage in game two but after five innings, the Spartans had a 4-3 lead. The Yellow Jackets tied it up in the sixth inning and after each team scored a run in the seventh, DC went back on top, 8-7, in the eighth. MU responded with eight runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull away.

Manchester tallied 19 hits while Defiance again had six. There were three home runs hit in the contest and five errors made, including three by the hosts.

Offensively, Kaffenbarger finished 2 for 4 with a homer, walk and two runs scored for the Yellow Jackets. Freshman Zach Martin chipped in with an RBI double and run scored.

Will Bohlman started and tossed 5.2 innings for DC, striking out three with two walks. Four other pitchers worked out of the bullpen with Tyler Hines taking the loss, despite getting out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning.

Both the Jackets and Spartans are 3-7 overall and in the HCAC. Defiance is scheduled to host a conference twinbill with Anderson University next Saturday at 1 p.m.