Yellow Jackets outslugged by Indiana Tech on Saturday
DEFIANCE, Ohio - A warm, breezy Saturday afternoon turned into a hitter's haven at Craig Rutter Field with the Defiance Yellow Jackets falling to Indiana Tech in both games of a WHAC doubleheader, 13-5 adn 17-6.
Despite four total home runs and six additional doubles across both games, the Yellow Jackets (10-30, 2-18 WHAC) were unable to contain of the conference's top hitting teams. The Warriors (27-14, 17-5 WHAC) were held to just one extra-base hits in the first game before unloading nine extra-base hits with four homers in the second contest.
Game 1: Indiana Tech 13, Defiance 5
The Yellow Jackets erased an early 4-0 deficit but the Warriors used a big inning to take command of the first game. Mitchell Roever got the offense rolling in the second inning with a leadoff single and came in on a sacrifice fly from Elisa Marquez. In the third, Anthony Silvera Jr. slugged his third homer of the year to left-center to pull the Jackets within one. Connor Gephart and Jacob Hild kept the ball rolling with a double and single to tie the game. Indiana Tech responded with six runs in the top of the fourth on six singles, one walk and a hit batter.
Game 2: Indiana Tech 17, Defiance 6
The second contest was back-and-forth as well before ending in via the run rule in seven innings. Roever lit the wick in the bottom of the first with a two-run double but the Warriors got those runs right back thanks to the first pair of four doubles in the game. Alex Rodriguez III pushed the Jackets on top in the home half of the frame when he blasted his first home run as a Yellow Jacket down the left field line. The Warriors hit right back with a solo homer of their own that was answered by Gunner Gregg, who swatted a two-run blast to deep left-center. Roever made it a three-run third when he launched a solo homer to give DC a 6-3 lead. Indiana Tech roared ahead with 14 unanswered runs to close the game. The big pokes included a three-run homer in the sixth by Logan Rybarczyk and a pair of two-run shots in the seventh from Brycen Hannah and Jake Ferguson. Rybarczyk also delivered the go-ahead RBI with a bases-loaed suicide squeeze that scored two and broke a 6-6 tie in the fourth inning.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Defiance dropped their ninth and 10th straight games with Saturday's losses.
- The Yellow Jackets displayed the power with a single-game best in extra-base hits when they hit five in each game.
- DC had eight total home runs entering the afternoon and went on to hit four home runs during the twinbill.
- Mitchell Roever was a very tough out with consecutive multi-hit games. The senior outfielder went 4-for-7 with a home run, double and three RBIs. Roever's on-base streak extended to 12 games.
- Anthony Silvera Jr. and Gunner Gregg each collected their team-high third home runs of the season. Gregg leads the team in RBIs with 22.
- Silvera Jr. finished the day 3-for-7 with two doubles, one homer, a walk and three RBIs.
- Tyler Dehan collected two doubles in Game 1 and went 3-for-6 overall, including hits in each game.
- Jacob Hild posted a three-hit game in the opener and went 3-for-6 with a pair of walks.
- Conner Gephart's on-base streak increased to 19 games while he went 2-for-7 overall with a double in the first contest.
- No Defiance pitcher escaped the action unscathed from the Indiana Tech offense. In Game 1, Colin Danek produced a 1-2-3 third inning and Carter Kennon did the same in the fifth. In the second game, Gunner Gregg took the start and worked a scoreless start and held the lead through three innings.
- On the defensive front, the Yellow Jacket outfield produced a pair of outfield assists in Game 1. Tyler Dehan doubled up a runner attempting to tag and score on a flyout in the second inning. In the sixth inning of that game, Garret Long got credit for cutting down a runner trying to take an extra base on a single.
UP NEXT
Defiance's doubleheader against Aquinas on Saturday is now being hosted by the Saints due to rain forecasted for much of the day in Northwest Ohio. The Yellow Jackets and Saints will play at 1 p.m. at Meijer Sports Complex in Rockford, Mich.
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