HILLSDALE, Mich. – Senior Nick Venditti (Brecksville, Ohio) tossed a complete game gem and Ohio Dominican's baseball team claimed a 6-1 victory at Hillsdale Wednesday afternoon in GLIAC play.

The Panthers took two out of three in the series with the Chargers and improved to 11-14 on the season, including a 7-4 mark in conference play. Hillsdale fell to 11-13 (4-7 GLIAC).

Venditti had pinpoint control, throwing 77 of his 107 pitches for strikes. He punched out nine Charger hitters without issuing a walk and also did not allow an extra base hit for the contest. He matched the longest outing of his career when he threw a nine-inning perfect game against Fisher College in 2010, and the nine strikeouts were the second-most in his career.

After Hillsdale scored first in the bottom half of the opening frame, the Panthers responded in the second, loading the bases with one out and bringing a run across on a fielder's choice grounder as junior Bryan Rudolph (Pickerington, Ohio) came in to score.

The Panthers then took the lead in the fourth inning, with sophomore Vince Bartolone (Broadview Heights, Ohio) singling to center to score Parcher, who started the inning with a leadoff walk.

ODU broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning. Junior Kevin Lydic (Dublin, Ohio) doubled to left field to put runners on second and third, and he and Rudolph scored on a fielder's choice grounder that was compounded by a Hillsdale fielding error to give the Panthers a 4-1 edge.

Sophomore Marcus Schluessler (Zanesville, Ohio) and senior Ryan Rovnak (Poland, Ohio) were both hit by pitches to load the bases with two outs, and junior Jossue Delgado (Barinas, Venezuela) delivered with a two-run single to center that gave ODU its five-run cushion.

That was more than enough support for Venditti, who only allowed three Chargers to reach scoring position in the final eight frames and ended the game with a double play groundout.

Hillsdale actually out-hit ODU 8-6 for the contest, but Panther hitters drew three walks and were hit by six pitches in the game.  The last time ODU was hit by six pitches in a contest was March 13, 2005 against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Freshman Collin Parcher (Napoleon, Ohio) went 2-for-2, drew two walks and was hit by a pitch. Schluessler and senior Chase Westphal (Brecksville, Ohio) each were plunked twice.

Ohio Dominican returns home for a three-game weekend series with Grand Valley, beginning with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu