COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team escaped a late inning rally by Lake Erie College on Thursday to win the first of a three game series with the Storm in Eastlake, Ohio. ODU scored four runs in the top of the eighth to take a 9-4 lead, but their future Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) counterpart rallied for four runs of their own in the inning to cut the lead to 9-8 where it would stay.
Ohio Dominican wasted little time versus the high powered Storm attack as they jumped out of the gate for two runs in the first inning. Back-to-back hits to lead off the game by Evan Shaw (So./Delaware, OH) and Felix Brown (Jr./ Philipsburg, St. Maarten) led to ODU's two runs. Eian Banks (Sr./Delaware, OH) got the Panthers on the board with a sac fly to score Shaw and J.T. Feldkamp's (Jr./Lorian, OH) two out double plated Brown for the early lead.
Lake Erie answered in their half of the inning with a run of their own. ODU added a run in the third and fifth to extend their lead, but the Storm came rolling back with a pair in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3. The lead would stay where it was at after both teams manufactured runs in the seventh bringing the score to 5-4.
ODU looked as though they would pull away as they scored four runs in the eighth inning. Greg Riesenberg (Sr./Loveland, OH) led-off the inning with a walk and eventually scored on a two run shot from Shaw. A hit-batsmen and pair of hits would lead to four runs in the inning for the Panthers as they carried a 9-4 lead into the home half of the eighth.
Lake Erie wouldn't go away as they answered with four of their own. The Storm would get to the ODU bullpen as they touched up Drew McGlone (Fr./Circleville, OH) for four runs on five hits. The Panthers then turned to Kyle Gore (Jr./Solon, OH) who would close the door on the Storm for his first save of the season.
Nick Venditti (Fr./Brecksville, OH) would earn the win on the mound for the Panthers as he went seven innings of work allowing four runs on 10 hits. Gore got the save after tossing two innings allowing just one hit and had two strikeouts.
Leading the way offensively for the Panthers was John Bowron (So./Dayton, OH; pictured) who had four hits and scored two runs. Shaw added three hits and two RBI, while Feldkamp drove in four runs on the afternoon.
ODU will return to action on Saturday, April 3rd as they return to Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio for a non-conference doubleheader versus Lake Erie College. Game one of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.
