Baseball splits two one-run games on rainy Saturday

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader between the Defiance College baseball team and Hanover College Panthers got started in the morning hours and ended early on Saturday with the two squads splitting a couple of one-run games. Hanover came back for a 7-6 win in the opener before Defiance pulled out a 5-4 victory in the second contest that was ended after five innings because of rain and a wet field.

In game one, the Panthers led, 1-0, before the Yellow Jackets scored twice in the third inning and once in the fourth for a 3-1 lead. HC tied the contest in the fifth but the hosts responded with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to establish a 6-3 edge. Hanover rallied, however, with a run in the eighth and a three-run ninth.

Each team registered 10 hits and there were no errors made. DC left 14 runners on base.

At the plate for Defiance, Lucas Thomeier went 3 for 4 with a double, two walks and two runs scored while Josh Vischer also had three hits in four at-bats with a walk, run batted in and run scored. Michael Reese contributed a two-run double, walk and run scored.

The Yellow Jackets' starting pitcher, Daniel Tomalak, left the game with the lead after going seven innings, giving up just five hits and three runs with one strikeout. Zac Brazen took the loss.

In the second contest that featured a rain and lightning delay of one hour and 29 minutes, the Panthers again got out to a 1-0 advantage before DC tied things up in the second inning. HC went up, 3-1, before a three-run fourth put Defiance out in front, 4-3. Each club added a run in the fifth and final inning before the game was called.

The Yellow Jackets edged their guests in hits, 5-4, and committed two of the contest's three errors. DC stranded eight base runners.

Dylan King was 2 for 2 with the game-winning RBI and a run scored for Defiance while Vischer ended 2 for 3, driving in two. Brant Richardson had the team's other hit and drew a base on balls.

Lane Good pitched all five innings for the win, allowing four hits with three strikeouts for the Yellow Jackets.

DC is 5-17 overall and in the HCAC while Hanover is an even 11-11. The Jackets are slated to host a conference twinbill versus Franklin College at Defiance High School on Sunday. The first game is set for 1 p.m.