Defiance Baseball Gets Split Against Mount St. Joseph

TOLEDO, OHIO  --  Junior Gary Levengood (Beverly Hills, Fla./Lecanto) hit a grand slam in the second game of a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Mount St. Joseph University as the Yellow Jackets split the twinbill, falling to the Lions, 6-3 in game one, but dominating the nightcap, 16-1, in seven innings in Toledo.

Levengood's only official at-bat in the second game was the grand slam and ended the game with two runs scored and four RBI.  His hit was one of 11 hits for the Jackets in the game.  Junior Ben Weber (Troy/Lehman Catholic) was a perfect three-of-three in addition to scoring two runs and driving in another.  Fellow junior Royce Laurendeau (Clyde) also had a multi-hit game going two-of-two to go along with a run scored and three RBI.  Five other DC players each recorded a base hit in the win, including sophomore Quinten Harrington (Sandusky/Perkins) who finished one-of-four with two runs scored and two RBI.

Defiance (8-7, 3-4 HCAC) began the nightcap scoring 11 straight runs in the first three innings.  The Jackets tallied a run in the bottom of the first inning that a RBI-single by Laurendeau with bases loaded.  DC then blew the game open with an eight-run second that included Levengood's grand slam and then a two-RBI triple by Harrington later in the inning as the lead ballooned to 9-0.  Defiance then tacked on two more runs in the third on a two-RBI double by Laurendeau.  Mount St. Joseph (7-9, 2-5 HCAC) scored its lone run in the top of the fourth, but the Jackets went on to score five more runs with two in the bottom half of the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth to round out the scoring.  DC's run in the fifth would come on a solo homerun off the bat of senior Ian Burkhart (Fremont, Ind./Fremont), his first of the season.  Weber and freshman Zack Bires (Lorain/Amherst Steele) also recorded RBI base hits during the scoring run.  The Yellow Jackets' big lead would put the mercy rule into effect as Defiance cruised to the 16-1 victory in seven innings.

DC got a strong pitching performance from starter senior Aaron Grasing (Carmel, Calif./Carmel) who pitched six full innings and got his second win of the season to improve to 2-1 overall.  He allowed just the lone run and four hits, while striking out three batters.  Junior Chris Douglas (Wixom, Mich./Walled Lake Western) pitched the final inning and gave up no runs or hits.

In game one, MSJ jumped out early scoring a run in the top of the second inning and then added a pair of runs in the third to lead 3-0.  Defiance got a run back in the third when sophomore Zack Reed (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) crossed the plate off of a single by senior Chris Donese (Kettering/Fairmont) to make the score 3-1.  The deficit remained two runs until the top of the sixth when the Lions scored twice and later added an insurance run in the ninth to extend the margin to 6-1.  In Defiance's last at-bats, the Jackets began the inning with back-to-back doubles by senior Joel Musser (Center Line, Mich./Center Line) and Burkhart to score a run.  DC tallied one more run later in the frame on a sacrifice fly by Donese, but the possible Jacket rally fell short as MSJ hung on for the 6-3 final.

Defiance ended the game with 10 hits and were led by the trio of Levengood, Musser and Burkhart who all finished two-of-four at the plate.  Musser also added a run scored and Burkhart scored a run and a RBI.  Donese posted a one-of-four effort to go along with two RBI.  

On the mound, sophomore Dave Blanch (Alliston, Ont./Banting Memorial) got the start, but would end up with the loss and falls to 1-2 overall for the season.  In five complete innings, he allowed three runs on 10 hits and struck out seven batters.  Three other pitchers would see playing time in the final four innings.

Defiance is scheduled to travel to Bluffton for a HCAC single nine-inning game against Bluffton University on Tuesday, Mar. 31.  The first pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.