COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team battled former AMC rival Walsh University in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon in Panther Valley. The Panthers kept the Cavaliers in check, winning game one 3-1, but battled from behind the entire second game as Walsh snuck away with an extra innings 10-8 victory to snap ODU's season high five-game win streak.
It was all ODU in game one as freshman starter Nick Venditti (Brecksville, OH) kept the Cavs' bats in check. Venditti allowed just one earned run on four hits, while striking out six in six innings of work to improve his record to 4-1. Kyle Gore (Jr./Solon, OH) earned his third straight save of the season as he retired the Cavs in the seventh.
Junior J.T. Feldkamp (Lorain, OH;pictured) provided the offensive punch for the Panthers going 2-for-2 at the plate driving in all three of the ODU runs.
Walsh (11-18) jumped out to quick four run lead going into the third inning of game two. ODU answered plating three in the bottom half to cut the deficit to one, but the Cavs plated a run in the fifth to push the lead to 5-3. The Panthers once again rallied sending two across to knot the game at 5-5in the fifth. Walsh tacked on a run in the sixth and seventh innings, but pinch hitter Caleb Wilburn's (Fr./Delaware, OH) two run, two-out single in the bottom of the seventh would send the game into extra innings.
The Cavs plated a run in the eighth and two more in the ninth and held off the last Panther surge for the final tally of 10-8.
Wilburn, Eian Banks (Sr./Delaware, OH) and John Bowron (So./Dayton, OH) all drove in two RBI in the loss.
Ohio Dominican has won seven of their last 10 games and improved their overall record to 10-19 on the year. Next up for the Panthers will be a non-conference road game with the Urbana Blue Knights on Thursday, April 8th at 1 p.m.
