WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Junior right hander Alex Borgan (Pickerington, Ohio) was sharp in his first outing of the season and three players had at least two hits as Ohio Dominican's baseball team notched an 8-1 win over Indianapolis Sunday afternoon at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

The game was called after five innings due to rain as the Panthers improved to 4-2 on the spring, while the Greyhounds fell to 3-2.

Borgan limited Indy to five hits and the one run in five innings, striking out five and walking just one. He was making his first start of the season.

Senior John Bowron (Dayton, Ohio) went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, his third multi-hit game of the spring. Freshmen Kyle Tisdale (Uniontown, Ohio) and Jake Simmerman (Westerville, Ohio) both went 2-for-3, with Tisdale scoring twice and Simmerman once as the Panthers pounded out 12 hits.

The Panthers got on the board first with a run in the top of the second, as Tisdale singled to start the inning, Simmerman doubled, and Tisdale came in to score on an RBI groundout by senior Austin Grate (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to make it 1-0.

In the third, senior Evan Shaw (Delaware, Ohio) reached on an error and would come in to score on a basehit by sophomore Bryan Rudolph (Pickerington, Ohio) to put ODU in front 2-0. In the bottom of the inning, though, the Greyhounds halved the deficit on an RBI single with one out, but Borgan ended the inning with a strike out and ground out to first.

ODU's bats, aided by a pair of Indy errors, struck for three runs in the fourth. After the first two hitters were retired, Bowron singled and stole second. Senior Tyler Zaidel (Cincinnati, Ohio) then reached on an error by the third baseman, and both Bowron and Zaidel came in to score on a baseknock by Shaw. Junior Ryan Rovnak (Poland, Ohio) followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and freshman Chase Westphal (Brecksville, Ohio) delivered an RBI single to score Shaw and make it 5-1.

Indy had a chance to answer in the fourth, loading the bases with one out on a walk, an error and a single, but Borgan escaped trouble with a pair of groundouts to keep the Panthers in front by four runs.

In the fifth and ultimately final inning, Tisdale doubled and Simmerman singled to start the frame, and Bowron chased Tisdale home with a basehit. Zaidel followed with an RBI single, and a sac fly by Shaw to right plated Bowron and accounted for the final tally.

The eight runs were a season-high for ODU and the most in the past 11 games for the Panthers, dating to an 8-2 victory over Lake Erie on May 5, 2011.

The Panthers continue play at the RussMatt Invitational at 9 a.m. Monday against Kentucky Wesleyan.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu