DC bounces back Sunday to earn split of weekend series at Judson

ELGIN, Ill. – On Sunday afternoon of St Patrick's Day, the Defiance Yellow Jackets split the third and fourth games of the weekend against the Eagles of Judson University, losing 8-2 followed by a 5-2 victory.

For the weekend, the Yellow Jackets and Eagles split the four-game weekend series with a pair of wins apiece. DC improves to 2-7 while Judson goes to 6-14.

Game 1

Starting pitching set the tone in Game 1 as Logan Kunkel (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) gave up just one hit during his first trip through the order. He was outdueled by Judson starter Brady Popovich, who went the distance and held the Jackets to three hits and struck out seven.

In the top of the third, DC started in the scoring column, thanks to a sac fly to right from Mitchell Roever (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), scoring Alex Rodriguez III (Toledo, Ohio/Waite). The Eagles came right back scoring the game's in the home half of the inning to gain the lead, scoring three runs on four hits, including back-to-back RBI doubles from Jake Angelo and Giovanni Davila.

Judson added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth with another RBI double by Davila to make it 4-1. Extending their lead again in the sixth, the Eagles scored four unearned runs to open up the ballgame 8-1.

Defiance gave up a fight in the top of the seventh, getting two runners on second and third with one out. Rodriguez III hit a sac fly to left field scoring Jacob Hild (Holly, Mich./Holly) from third and advancing Tim Bobek (Holland, Ohio/Springfield) to third base. The Yellow Jackets run came up short, ending the ballgame 8-2 as Popovich finished what he started.

Game 2

Johnny Hammerstein (Canton, Michigan/Father Gabriel Richard) took the ball for DC in Game 2 and held the Eagles to two runs with no walks through five innings. The Eagles got to him in the second inning to take the early lead with back-to-back extra-base hits by Jude Ruddy and Benjamin Nelson.

The Yellow Jackets offense got rolling in the fourth, started by two walks from Jacob Hild (Holly, Michigan/Holly) and Jaron Gase (Tiffin, Ohio/Calvert). Bobek then delivered an RBI single to score Hild from second and tied the game up, 1-1.

The Eagles took the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from Asher Thompson, scoring Ruddy from second. The Yellow Jackets weren't done yet though and fought back to even the score again in the fifth, this time with two outs by Gunner Gregg (Greytown, Ohio/Oak Harbor) with an RBI single, scoring Mitchell Roever (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder).

The Yellow Jackets continued to stay hot with the bats going into the seventh, getting runners on second and third to begin the inning. Defiance took their first lead of the game and broke the 2-2 tie when Jack Brubaker-Flood (Wolverine Lake, Michigan/Walled Lake Central) pinch hit and knocked in both runners following an error by Judson's first baseman. Gunner Gregg (Greytown, Ohio/Oak Harbor) kept the line moving and fired his third single of the game into center field, setting up an RBI single by Connor Gephart (Lima, Ohio/LCC) to hit an RBI single over the shortstops head on the next at bat.

Gregg then took over on the mound and nailed down the final three outs for his first career save in his first pitching performance as a Yellow Jacket. He was able to preserve the winning decision for Tyler Dehan (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry), which was also his first as a collegiate pitcher.

BRINGING THE STING

• Alex Rodriguez III led the offense for the day while getting his first extra-base hit in his early Defiance College career. The Waite graduate led the team on the base path with two stolen bases through the first game. Rodriguez III ended the game with a sac fly in the seventh. He ended the day going 3-for-5 from the plate.
• Gunner Gregg also had a three-hit afternoon, all of which were in Game 2 and combined to go 3-for-6 with a walk. Additionally, he had an RBI in the fifth inning of Game 2 to tie the game 2-2.
• Aerion Gipson pitched in relief of Kunkel during the first game and got through the fifth inning facing just four batters. Gipson pitched a scoreless inning and forced a double play to end the inning for DC.
• Johnny Hammerstein pitched five effective innings, facing 23 batters, allowing two runs and did not issue a walk. He also got out of a big jam in the fourth to allow the Yellow Jackets to tie the game in the top half of the fifth.
• Tim Bobek collected one base hit in each ballgame, highlighted by a double in Game 1. He recorded a hit in all four games for the weekend with a 4-for-13 mark at the plate.

UP NEXT

Defiance starts conference play at home against the Grizzlies of Franklin College in a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.

-JACKETS-