Transy's bats relentless in doubleheader sweep of DC

DEFIANCE, Ohio - On a windy Saturday afternoon, the Defiance Yellow Jackets were swept by the second-place team in the HCAC, the Transylvania Pioneers, losing 12-6 and 14-4.

Game 1 - Transylvania 12, Defiance 6

The Yellow Jackets sent Josh Gase to start on the bump for his fifth appearance of the year, while the Pioneers sent Luke Patton. Gase gave up just three hits in 3.1 innings of work, striking out two but was outshined by Patton, who went seven innings and handcuffed DC to only two earned runs.

Mitchell Roever put the Jackets on the board first with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. Transylvania came out firing in the third with a two-RBI double coming from Henry Mitcham followed by Trent Youngblood stealing home just one batter later. DC came right back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the contest by scoring two runs including an RBI single by Trent Murdock.

Two walks and a hit by pitch to start the fourth led to Gavin Bragg relieving Gase. Eventually, the Pioneers would put a four-spot on the board in the top of the fourth taking the lead 7-3

Transylvania added another run in the seventh on a double down the left field line by Austin Taylor, scoring Henry Mitcham. Patton kept the Yellow Jackets scoreless over the next four innings and completed his outing with 97 pitches en route to the winning decision.

DC staged a comeback attempt in the late innings scoring three runs on home runs by Mitchell Roever and Tim Bobek but eventually came up short, 12-6.

Game 2 - Transylvania 14, Defiance 4

After a nearly three-hour first game, Transy continued to swing hot bats and posted double digits runs once again. DC starter Aiden Behrman lasted just two innings after being charged with five runs in the third. Drew Bowles started on the mound for Transylvania and lasted five innings, striking out six.

Defiance struck first with three runs in the second frame. Roever continued a two-out rally with another RBI single through the left side, scoring Tyler Dehan from third. Elisa Marquez and Jack Brubaker-Flood also scored in the inning on a pair of passed balls.

The Pioneers got to Behrman in the top half of the third after loading the bases to start the inning. A walk caused the first run to score and eventually led to another two runs scored aided by an error by Defiance. Austin Taylor continued Transy's run with a go-ahead, two-run single to right, making it 4-3. Behrman was then replaced by Jeff Varga, who escaped the inning by retiring three of the next four hitters.

The fourth inning was a similar story for Transylvania scoring three more runs on five hits. The Jackets added a run in the fourth on a two-out RBI double from Gunner Gregg. After the fourth, DC was held to just two hits in the final five innings of the competition. The Pioneers did not slow their offense down, scoring seven more runs including a two-run homer in the top of the ninth by Trent Youngblood.

BRINGING THE STING

• Mitchell Roever led the offense for the day with four hits, including a home run, in a pair of two-hit games. The Cincinnati native also added three RBIs for the afternoon.
• Kolbe VanderLeest, the designated hitter for the afternoon, had a good first game getting two singles in four at-bats.
• Tim Bobek brought energy off the bench late in the first game with a two-run homer to lessen the Pioneers' lead. It was his first homer of the season.
• Gunner Gregg brought fire to the offense in the second game going 3-for-5 at the plate, including an RBI double. He went a combined 4-for-9 in the doubleheader.
• Connor Gephart reached base four times with a hit and walk in each game to extend his on-base streak to 18 games.
• Aerion Gipson went three innings in relief, getting four strikeouts and limiting the hot Transylvania offense to just three hits.

UP NEXT

Defiance and Transylvania will meet one last time on Rutter Field to play the finale of the three-game series at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

-JACKETS-