Jackets Fall to Nationally-Ranked Adrian

ADRIAN, Mich. – Defiance saw its three-game road winning streak come to a close in its doubleheader with No. 24 Adrian College on Wednesday afternoon. The Jackets dropped the opening game of the twinbill, 3-2, before falling 2-0 in the finale.

The pitching of Justine Johnston kept DC in the opener, as she threw a one-hit shutout through the first five innings to keep the two teams knotted in a scoreless tie.

Adrian would break up Johnston's shutout bid in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of a DC error to push three runs across in the inning.  

Defiance started a rally in the seventh, as Kayla Crager led off the inning with a single up the middle. Amanda Auzins put DC on the scoreboard with her second home run of the season, driving in pinch runner Katelyn Samples with a blast to left field to pull the Jackets within one, 3-2.

Defiance kept its rally alive on Tasha Stucke's two-out single that put the tying run aboard. However, things would not go the Jackets' way, as Marah Robinson's line drive shot was snagged by the third baseman for the final out of the contest.

Johnston took the loss for DC, snapping the staff ace's three-game winning streak. The senior pitcher gave up three unearned runs in the game, limiting the Bulldogs to just five hits.

Defiance could not get its offense going in the nightcap and Adrian took advantage, despite a solid outing by DC starter Kelly Schnipke. The Bulldogs scored in the first inning of the contest, before adding an insurance run in the sixth to collect the 2-0 victory.

Schnipke fell to 4-3 on the season, despite only surrendering two runs on six hits in her six innings of work. Mallory Faling finished the contest with two of the Jackets' three hits, while Robinson was credited with DC's only other base knock.

Defiance (10-7) will open up HCAC play this weekend, Saturday, March 28, when it hosts Anderson University. The opening game of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.