MIDLAND, Mich. – With temperatures hovering in the upper 30s, Ohio Dominican's baseball team kept Northwood's third-ranked offense in check as the Panthers swept Saturday's GLIAC doubleheader by scores of 3-1 and 6-1.

After dropping their first two conference games, the Panthers have ripped off six straight wins and are now 14-7 overall (6-2 GLIAC). Northwood fell to 11-6 (2-4 GLIAC).

Junior Nick Venditti (Brecksville, Ohio) tossed a complete game gem in the nightcap, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and needed just 76 pitches to notch his first complete game win of the season. He allowed just three hits and struck out four while walking one.

In the opener, three Panther pitchers combined to hold Northwood – who entered today batting .296 as a team – to eight hits and the one run. Overall, ODU limited the Timberwolves to 11 hits in 51 at bats (.216 average).

ODU's bats also came up with enough timely hitting in both games, as the Panthers went 9-for-21 (.429) with runners in scoring position, compared to 2-of-11 (.182) for Northwood with runners on second or third.

In game one, Northwood struck first with a run in the bottom of the first inning, but ODU quickly responded with a pair of tallies of its own in the top of the second. Senior John Bowron (Dayton, Ohio) was hit by a pitch and proceeded to swipe second, then came in to score as redshirt junior Zack Dascenzo (Uniontown, Pa.) laced a double down the left field line. Two batters later, senior Evan Shaw (Delaware, Ohio) sent a single through the left side that scored Dascenzo and put the Panthers in front 2-1.

Freshman righty Cole Carpenter (Zanesville, Ohio) was able to strand a pair of runners in both the second and third innings before being lifted with two on and two out in the fourth. Classmate Alberto Canales (West Park, Fla.) relieved and ended the frame by snaring a comeback liner at the mound for the final out.

ODU tacked on another run in the fifth as Dascenzo walked to start the inning and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Tyler Zaidel (Cincinnati, Ohio). Freshman Chase Westphal (Brecksville, Ohio) then delivered the key hit, sending a single through the left side that scored Dascenzo and put the Panthers on top by two.

The score remained at 3-1 entering the seventh, when senior Erik Lamka (Troy, Ohio) relieved Canales. After issuing a one-out walk, the right hander closed the game with a 4-6-3 double play to pick up his fourth save of the season.

The Panthers were out-hit 8-5 in the game, but ODU's pitching staff stranded 10 Northwood runners on base. Carpenter started and went 3.2 innings, allowing six hits and the one run, while Canales (3-0) picked up the win with his 2.1 innings of shutout relief.

Shaw went 2-for-3 with the RBI and a steal, while Dascenzo was 1-for-2 with an RBI, a walk and two runs scored.

In game two, the Panthers jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first and never looked back. Redshirt sophomore Christian Prince (Hudsonville, Mich.) had an RBI single to plate Shaw, and freshman Tyler Watkins (Belpre, Ohio) came in to score on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of sophomore Anthony Raschilla (Girard, Ohio) for the second run.

Three straight singles to start the fourth resulted in another run for ODU, as sophomore Bryan Rudolph (Pickerington, Ohio) knocked in Prince with a basehit through the left side of the infield to make it 3-0. The offense stayed hot in the fifth, scoring twice more as Prince and Raschilla had back-to-back RBI singles to stretch the lead to 5-0.

Venditti allowed just one baserunner through the first four innings, via a leadoff walk in the third, but he was quickly erased on a double play as Bowron made a catch in right and doubled him off the bag. The Timberwolves finally broke through in the fifth as a hit by pitch and two singles scored a run, but Venditti escaped further trouble by ending the inning with a flyout.

ODU tacked on another run in the sixth, scoring on a Northwood error, and Venditti worked a 1-2-3 sixth before allowing just one hit in the seventh to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Shaw had three more hits in the second game and finished the afternoon 5-for-7. Prince also had three hits and drove in two, Raschilla went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Rudolph also went 2-for-4.

Ohio Dominican and Northwood conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader starting at noon on Sunday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu