HILLSDALE, Mich. – Three big scoring innings helped Ohio Dominican's baseball team to a doubleheader sweep, 18-8 and 6-5, over host Hillsdale in GLIAC action Sunday.

The Panthers had innings of seven runs and five runs in the opener and tallied all six of their runs in the second inning of game two to complete the sweep and take three of four from the Chargers on the weekend.

Seven Panthers had multi-hit efforts on the afternoon and six had multi-RBI games as well. The 18 runs in the opener were the most since the team also plated 18 on May 8, 2008 when the Panthers defeated Urbana 18-4 in an NAIA Region IX Tournament contest.

The Panthers jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first inning of game one on the strength of six hits and a trio of Hillsdale errors. ODU's first six hitters reached base on a pair of errors and four hits, highlighted by an RBI basehit up the middle by junior Austin Grate (Fort Wayne, Ind.), an RBI single to left by freshman Anthony Raschilla (Girard, Ohio) and an RBI double off the bat of freshman Bryan Rudolph (Pickerington, Ohio) to put the Panthers in front 4-0. Raschilla later came in to score on a wild pitch, and RBI basehits by sophomore Nick DiNello (Boardman, Ohio) and senior Germaine McAlpine (Canton, Ohio) capped an inning in which ODU sent 11 men to the plate.

ODU stretched the lead to 10-0 after senior Felix Brown (Philisburg, St. Maarten) scored on a wild pitch in the second and Grate and Rudolph driving in a run each in the fourth inning. Hillsdale, which only had one baserunner through three innings against sophomore right-hander sophomore Nick Venditti (Brecksville, Ohio), put two runs on the board in the fourth, but the Panthers answered with a five-spot in the top of the fifth to essentially put the game away.

All five runs scored with two men out, as junior Evan Shaw (Delaware, Ohio) crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Brown and Rudolph walked with the bases loaded. Sophomore Zack Dascenzo (Uniontown, Pa.) and DiNello were both hit by pitches with the bases still full of Panthers, and Shaw singled up the middle to make it 15-2. ODU tacked on two runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh to close out the scoring.

Venditti picked up the victory, allowing 10 hits and eight runs, though just four were earned, in 5.2 innings. He threw 93 pitches, walking one and fanning four in improving to 1-4 on the year.

Brown went 3-for-4 with a walk, four runs scored and two RBI, while Grate also scored four times and finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk. Shaw went 3-for-5, Raschilla and Zaidel both had two hits, and DiNello and Rudolph both drove in three as well. The Panthers finished with 15 hits – their most since registering 16 in the 11-3 win over then-No. 1 Georgia College - and walked nine times, their most drawing 10 walks against Tiffin in the 9-3 win on March 26.

In the second game, the Panthers picked up almost immediately where they left off in game one. Despite hitting into a double play and then leaving two runners on base in the first, ODU scored six times in the second to build an early 6-0 edge. Rudolph led off with a triple, and after DiNello walked, sophomore Andrew Powelson (Tallmadge, Ohio) singled to right to score Rudolph. After a double steal, Shaw singled up the middle to bring in DiNello and Powelson scored on McAlpine's sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

Later, junior Tyler Zaidel (Cincinnati, Ohio) hit an RBI single, scoring Shaw, and Grate capped the inning with a two-run double to center to put the Panthers on top by six.

Hillsdale bounced back with three runs in its half of the second and two more in the fourth to cut the Panther lead to 6-5. Sophomore Drew McGlone (Circleville, Ohio), making his first start of the year, left the bases loaded in the fourth though, and set the Chargers down in order in the fifth to keep it 6-5. He then worked around a two-out double in the sixth to keep ODU on top by a run, and turned the ball over to senior closer Kyle Gore (Solon, Ohio) for the seventh after Hillsdale began the final inning by putting two runners on via an error and a single.

Gore wasted no time, inducing the first hitter he faced into a 5-4-3 double play, and sealed the game with a strikeout, needing just eight pitched to seal the sweep for the Panthers.

McGlone moved to 2-0 after working six-plus innings, allowing nine hits and the five runs while striking out three and yielding just two walks.

Grate finished the four-game series 6-for-12 with three doubles and six RBI, while DiNello batted .455 with five RBI. Shaw batted .429 with four runs scored and a perfect 5-for-5 stealing bases.

With the sweep, ODU moved back into fourth place in the conference with a 17-23 record overall (14-15 GLIAC), while the Chargers dropped to 14-28 (10-18 GLIAC) and into eighth place.

ODU closes out its home schedule with a doubleheader against Lake Erie, beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 4.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu