Baseball splits first Florida doubleheader with Lasell

The Defiance baseball team faced off against Lasell in their first game for their spring Flordia trip on Monday and split the doubleheader with the Lasers. The Yellow Jackets won the opening game by a score of 6-4 and lost in game two, 7-6.

The Basics

• Records: Defiance (2-2) Lasell (1-4)
• Location: Player Development Complex - Fort Myers, Fla.

Game 1

Inside The Numbers

• Lucas Thomeier went 3-4 with an RBI and walk and a stolen base.
• Nate Kaffenbarger recorded a pair of hits and drove in two runs.
• Sophomore Trent Murdock and senior Alec Morr each had two hits in the contest.
• Cohen Nies got the start for the Yellow Jackets and gave up two runs over four innings to earn the win.
• Senior Kendall Duval threw two scoreless innings and struck out a pair to earn his first career save. 
• Pierce Clare and Jordan Martinez each notched two hits for Lasell.
• CJ Mills drove in two runs for the Lasers.
• Brendan Zaleski gave up five runs in one-plus innings to take the loss.

The Difference

• Defiance jumped on Zaleski early with three runs in the first thanks to RBI singles from Kaffenbarger, sophomore Hunter Bostater, and Murdock.
• The Lasers answered with a run in their half of the first but the Yellow Jackets added two more runs in the second. 
• Lasell cut the lead to 5-2 in the third before Thomeier singled in a run in the fifth to give Defiance some insurance.
• The Lasers cut the lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two-run single from Mills.
• Duvall entered the game in the sixth inning and keep the Lasers at bay for the final two frames and did not surrender a hit to record the six-out save.

Game 2

Inside The Numbers 

• Kaffenbarger and Bostater each had two hits in the second game.
• Bostater finished with RBIs and homered in the sixth, his first home run as a Yellow Jackets.
• Murdock reached base twice with a pair of walks.
• Morr recorded a hit and scored two runs.
• Freshman Sam Thombs got the start and gave up six runs with four of them being earned.
• Five difference Lasell players recorded hits in game two.
• Martinez drove in two runs for the Lasers.
• Vaun Larisa threw 2.1 innings in relief and earned the win.

The Difference

• Defiance took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Kaffenbarger plated Morr with a double to left-center.
• Lasell scored two runs off two hits and an error in the second and added four more runs in the third.
• Bostater cut the lead to 6-3 with a two-run single in the bottom of the third.
• Defiance rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth when Murdock scored on a passed ball and Bostater launched a two-run shot to right field to tie the game at 6-6.
• Griffin Ferreira gave the Lasers the lead with a sac fly in the sixth that ended up being the difference in the game.
• Freshmen Jeff Varga and Donovon Galovich had solid debuts with Varga throwing 2.1 scoreless innings and Galovich throwing two no-hit innings.

Up Next

• Defiance will face Wisconsin Lutheran tomorrow, Tuesday, March 15 in a doubleheader. The first game will start at 9:00 a.m.