Stewart Homers Twice in MSJ Doubleheader

CINCINNATI, Ohio  --  Aaron Stewart highlighted a 13-run outburst by Defiance in the second game of DCs doubleheader at Mount St. Joseph, but it was not enough as the Jackets fell 15-13. MSJ won the opener by a 7-2 score on Saturday afternoon.

The Mount jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the first inning but Defiance kept MSJ from scoring again until the bottom of the sixth. The Jackets took advantage of the Lions scoring drought and cut the margin to 3-2 with single runs in the third and sixth.

MSJ would finally break through in the bottom of the sixth, adding four insurance tallies and holding on for the 7-2 victory.

Ben Gates notched his third multi-hit game in his last six by going 2-for-4 at the plate. Trey Harris and Kirk Jesse each scored a run in the loss.

The bats came alive in the nightcap, as the two lineups combined for 28 runs and 27 hits in the 15-13 MSJ victory. No runs were scored until the bottom of the third but came in bunches over the remainder of the game.

Mount St. Joseph got things started with a four-run rally in the bottom of the third, but Defiance answered immediately with four runs of its own in the top of the fourth inning. Stewart and Harris provided the big blows, as Stewart smacked a two-run homer and Harris drove in a pair with a single.

The Lions punched right back with two runs in their next at bat and added three more in the fifth to take a 9-4 advantage heading into the sixth inning.

Defiance would not go away however, and sent 12 men to the plate in the top of the sixth in a nine-run explosion. The first 10 Yellow Jacket batters to hit in the rally all reached base safely, with Stewart beginning things with a single and capping them with a three-run blast down the left field line.

The nine-run rally gave the Jackets the 13-9 lead, but the DC pen could not make it hold as MSJ came back with two runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth to secure the 15-13 win.

Stewart had a big game at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI. Casey Kahsen was 3-for-3 and Harris knocked in three runs to fuel the DC offense.

Defiance will round out its 2008 schedule on Sunday at 1:00 pm when it takes on Mount St. Joseph for the third and final game of the weekend series.