Kaffenbarger ties career doubles record as baseball ends season with win over Rose-Hulman

Defiance senior Nate Kaffenbarger tied the program record for career doubles in the team's 5-3 win over Rose-Hulman in the second game of a doubleheader.

Notables

• Kaffenbarger hit a leadoff double in the top of the fifth inning to tie the program record for 40 career doubles set by Troy Konwinski (2016-19).
• The Yellow Jacket pitching staff ends the season with a program-record 247 strikeouts. Cohen Nies led the team with 66 followed by John Hammerstein with 48 and Sam Thombs with 47.

The Basics

• Records: Defiance (10-26, 4-14), Rose-Hulman (23-11, 12-6)
• Location: Art Nehf Field - Terre Haute, Ind.
• Attendance: 200

Game 1

Inside The Numbers

• Sophomore Mitchell Roever and junior Austin Horning each had hits for Defiance.
• Senior Cohen Nies gave up four runs over 1.1 innings to take the loss.
• Sophomore John Hammerstein pitched 4.2 innings in relief and allowed two runs and two hits.
• Both Nies and Hammerstein struck out four.
• Senior Kendall Duval threw a shutout inning out of the bullpen.
• Josh Mesenbrink went 3-3 with a homer and triple.
• Manuel Lopez and Adam Taylor also had three hits.
• Ian Kline struck out six over six innings to earn the win for Rose-Hulman.

The Difference

• Rose-Hulman scored four runs off of three hits in the bottom of the second.
• The Fightin' Engineers remained in control from that point on to take the game 15-0.
• Rose-Hulman outhit Defiance 12-2.

Game 2

Inside The Numbers

• Kaffenbarger went 2-5 and scored a run.
• Horning and Roever each had a hit and drove in a run.
• Freshman Joe Large and Jacob Hild each drove in a run.
• Freshman Sam Thombs allowed three runs over six innings to earn his third win of the season.
• Senior Tyler Hines threw 2.2 innings and didn't allow a run.
• Senior Kendall Duval entered in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on and two outs and struck out Ben Christiansen to earn his second save of the season.
• Mesenbrink had another three-hit performance in the second game.
• Harrison Finch had three hits for the Fightin' Engineers as well.
• Matthew Rouse took the loss for Rose-Hulman.

The Difference

• Mesenbrink put Rose-Hulman up 1-0 in the bottom of the first with an RBI single and the Engineers added two more runs in the bottom of the second off an RBI double by Drew Roberts and a single from Nathan Burke.
• Defiance got on the scoreboard with three consecutive singles from Roever, Lucas Thomeier, and Horning. Roever scored on the hit by Horning.
• Rouse walked Hunter Bostater and Hild to begin the fourth inning and an error by the Rose third baseman loaded the bases for Large who also drew a walk to make the score 3-2.
• Following the walk by Large Hild scored on a wild pitch to tie the game and a groundout by Roever scored Josh Vischer to put DC ahead.
• Hild gave the Yellow Jackets an insurance run in the fifth when he grounded out to drive in Kaffenbarger.
• Thombs continued to pitch well and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth inning to keep the score at 5-3.
• The Engineers threatened again in the bottom of the eighth when Finch singled to lead off the inning. However, Hines caught him leading a little too far off first and picked him off for the first out of the frame. Hines then retired the next two batters to send the game into the ninth inning.
• Hines faced the top of the Engineers' order in the ninth and got two quick outs before a pair of singles put men on first and second. Duval then entered and both runners advanced on a wild pitch before he struck out Christiansen to end the Defiance season with a victory.