Jackets Suffer Series Sweep to Anderson

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Yellow Jackets could not slow down the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference's top-rated lineup, as Anderson won 17-5 and 16-5 on Saturday to complete the series sweep against Defiance at Rutter Field.

DC manufactured the first run of the day, as Kirk Jesse worked a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first inning and hustled from first to third on an infield bounce out. Jesse then coasted home on a deep sacrifice fly from Tim Pitro to claim the 1-0 lead.

That would be the only lead of the day for Defiance however, as the Ravens scored seven times in the top of the second inning and tacked on four more in the third on their way to the 17-5 victory. AU scored 17 times on 17 hits and swatted two home runs, while Defiance countered with five runs on six hits and one home run from Keith Wade.

It was more Anderson offense in the series finale, as AU opened the 16-5 game with a five-run first inning and plated at least one rally in eight of its nine frames. The end result was 16 runs on 22 hits and four homers, while DC scored five times on 12 hits and saw Alex Timofeev clear the fence.

Brent Kremer had the hot bat on Saturday for the Jackets, as the sophomore left fielder collected a pair of doubles and five total hits in eight at bats during the two games and finished the weekend series with eight hits and four doubles in 13 at bats to raise his season average from .235 to .287.

DC falls to 12-14 overall and 4-7 in the HCAC with the two losses and will look to snap the three-game slide on Monday, when it takes on Manchester (13-14, 5-5 HCAC) in another conference battle. Monday's game will be at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Ind., as the Jackets and Spartans are set to play on the field of the Fort Wayne Tin Caps with the first pitch set for 7:00 pm.