Defiance drops doubleheader at Anderson

ANDERSON, Ind. – Defiance College fell 4-3 and 13-3 in a doubleheader at Anderson on Sunday in the program's eighth and ninth straight road game.

The afternoon's losses dropped DC to 4-18 and 1-10 in the HCAC while Anderson improved to 17-11 and 7-4 within the conference.

Game 1 - Anderson 4, Defiance 3

The Yellow Jackets were walked off for the fourth time this season when Anderson's Ben Brown broke a 3-3 tie with a game-winning, solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. Defiance reliever Jeffrey Varga stranded runners at third base in the seventh and eighth to preserve the tie ballgame and fell one out shy of sending the game into extra innings.

Defiance set the tone with the game's first runs and held a 3-1 lead at the stretch. Connor Gephart slugged his team-best fifth homer of the year, a two-run shot to left, to break a scoreless tie with two outs in the fifth. Anderson got one run back in the fifth for their lone run against Yellow Jacket starter Josh Gase. Gase fired six innings and held Anderson to four hits, walked two and struck out a pair. 

After the Jackets snagged a run in the top of the seventh on an Alex Rodriguez III sac fly, the Ravens worked three hits against reliever Gavin Bragg. The biggest knock was Jon Dorsch's two-run double to even the score and led to Bragg giving way to Varga.

Game 2 - Anderson 13, Defiance 3

In the second contest, Anderson had a trifecta of big innings and enforced the 10-run rule with another game-ending homer in the eighth.

The Ravens jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second frame capped off by a two-run shot by Charlie Jones. Jones struck again with a solo blast in the eighth inning to end the game.

Tyler Dehan smashed a two-run homer in the fourth frame, his first of the year and second of his college career, to bring Defiance within one run. However, the Ravens tacked on four in the home half of the inning to take command of the contest thanks to a three-run homer from Tyler Smitherman to make the score 7-2. Gephart slugged an RBI double in the sixth but Anderson responded right back in the bottom of the inning with one of their own.

Anderson compiled a second four-run inning in the seventh inning to put the game on the brink.

BRINGING THE STING

• Connor Gephart finished the day 3-for-8 with three RBIs to bring his season total to 19 to lead the team. Now with five home runs, the sophomore has the most home runs by a Yellow Jacket since Troy Konwinski hit 8 in 2019.
• Tyler Dehan finished 2-for-7 for the doubleheader and scored a pair of runs, including the two-run homer in Game 2.
• Gunner Gregg extended his hitting streak to seven games by posting a 3-for-8 afternoon with a double in Game 2.
• Jack Brubaker-Flood tallied a two-hit game in the first contest and went 2-for-5 with a double on the day after appearing as a pinch hitter in Game 2.
• Josh Gase's six-inning, one-run outing in the first contest marked his second quality start in his last three outings.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets and Ravens wrap up their series on Monday with a single nine-inning game. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.

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