Yellow Jackets Split with Engineers

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  After dropping the first game, 16-5, the Defiance College baseball team beat Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology in the second game, 5-2, to come away with a two-game split to begin the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series at Craig A. Rutter Field.

In addition, Defiance Head Coach Derek Woodley recorded his 250th career victory with the split.  He now has a 250-306 career record in 21 total seasons as a head coach.  Woodley is currently has 109 of those victories in nearly nine seasons while leading the Yellow Jackets (109-218 overall), but he also spent 12 seasons as head coach at Bethany Lutheran College, a junior college in Minnesota, where he accumulated a 141-90 mark during his tenure.

Rose-Hulman (21-8, 13-4 HCAC) scored early and often in the opener scoring runs in the first five innings.  The Fightin' Engineers began the game with a five-run top of the first inning to grab a sizeable early advantage.  Defiance (16-15, 9-9 HCAC) came right back, however, in the bottom of the inning with three runs that included run-scoring base hits by junior Quinten Harrington (Sandusky/Perkins) and freshman Tanner Stippich (Lima/Allen East).

Rose-Hulman went on score two runs in the second, a run in the third, three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and two more runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 16-3.  In the bottom of the eighth, the Yellow Jackets got bases loaded and plated runs on a single by freshman Tyler Weaver (Defiance) and a bases loaded walk by senior Ryan Kohlhofer (Walbridge/Lake) that made the score 16-5.  But the runs would come a bit too late as the Engineers went on to win by the final of 16-5.

Defiance had 11 hits in the game, but committed five errors defensively.  Harrington and freshman Michael Gilliland (Napoleon) both posted two-of-three efforts at the plate.  Harrington also had a RBI and Gilliland scored a run.  Weaver ended the game two-of-four to go along with a RBI and sophomore Dom Gentile (Defiance) had a pair of hits in five at-bats and also scored a run.

On the mound, six players saw action with junior Dave Blanch (Alliston, Ont./Banting Memorial) getting the start, but would suffer the loss and is now 4-4 overall for the season.  In two and two-thirds innings, he allowed five runs, four earned, on 10 hits and had four strikeouts.

In game two, Rose-Hulman took the game's first lead with a run in the top of the third inning.  The Jackets then rattled off four straight runs, beginning with a three-run fourth which included a sacrifice fly by freshman Troy Konwinski (Allen Park, Mich./Allen Park) and a RBI-single by Gilliand.  DC added another run in the fifth thanks to a defensive error on a stolen base attempt by junior Zack Reed (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) making the score 4-1.  

The Engineers cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth to make it a two-run ballgame, but DC got the run back in the bottom of the seventh on a fielder's choice by Levengood with bases loaded extending the margin back to three runs, 5-2.

The lead remained three runs the rest of the way for Defiance as the Yellow Jackets claimed game two, 5-2, for the doubleheader split.

Junior Nick Peters (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) pitched a complete game and recorded his third win of the season to improve to 3-3 overall.  He allowed just the two runs on seven hits and had a pair of strikeouts.

The two teams will meet again in the "rubber match" to decide the series tomorrow (Sunday, Apr. 24) in a single nine-inning game at Rutter Field.  The first pitch is scheduled for noon.