COLUMBUS, Ohio – Facing the possibility of being swept at home by visiting Tiffin, Ohio Dominican's baseball team erased a 4-1 deficit in game two with a six-run seventh inning to take a 9-5 victory. The Panthers bounced back from a 7-2 setback in the opener.

With the split of the doubleheader, the Panthers moved to 21-16 (12-12 GLIAC). ODU also moved within a game of second place Malone in the South Division standings. ODU is 8-8 in the division and Malone is 9-7, with the top two teams in the division earning an automatic bid into the GLIAC Tournament.

ODU found itself in the three run hole and had two outs with nobody on in its half of the seventh inning before striking for those six runs. Freshman Jacob Tisevich (North Canton, Ohio) lined a 1-2 pitch into center field for a single and senior Marcus Schluessler (Zanesville, Ohio) lifted a double down the left field line to move both into scoring position.

Junior Colman Fitzgerald (Centerville, Ohio) hit a ball sharply to shortstop, and the throw to first was off line, allowing both Tisevich and Schluessler to score to make it 4-3.

Freshman Lee Sponseller (Mason, Ohio) was then hit by a pitch in an 0-2 count, and senior Kyle Tisdale (Uniontown, Ohio) hit a ball back up the middle that was fielded behind the bag at second. Tiffin tried to throw behind Fitzgerald at third base, but the throw sailed away, allowing Fitzgerald to score the tying run and advancing Tisdale and Sponseller to second and third.

Freshman Justin Childers (Pickerington, Ohio) followed with a line drive two-run single to right to give the Panthers their first lead in the doubleheader, and classmate Max Banke (Oakwood, Ohio) also had an RBI basehit to right to put the Panthers on top 7-4.

Tiffin (17-25, 10-14 GLIAC) answered with a run in the eighth inning, but the Panthers earned some more breathing room in the bottom half. Sophomore Kyle Burson (Brunswick, Ohio) singled to start the inning, Schluessler and Fitzgerald walked to load the bases, and Sponseller hit a sacrifice fly to deep right to make it 8-5. Tisdale then bounced a ball through the left side of the infield to bring home Schluessler and give the Panthers a 9-5 lead.

Senior Vince Bartolone (Broadview Heights, Ohio) earned his fifth save of the year as he ended the game with a double play groundout.

Childers had a season-best three RBI, while Schluessler, Tisdale, Banke and Burson each finished with two hits for the Panthers. ODU pounded out 13 hits in the second game and scored all nine runs in the final three innings.

Freshman Tyler Magley (Baltimore, Ohio) allowed two hits and one unearned run in 3.1 innings of relief, and junior Ryan Colegate (Centerville, Ohio) would pick up the win as he ended the top of the seventh with a strikeout that kept the Panthers within three runs.

Tiffin led 3-0 through the first four innings, and after a Childers sacrifice fly in the sixth, scored another run in the seventh and had runners on the corners before Colegate's strikeout.

It was ODU that was victimized by errors and a big inning in the opener, though, as Tiffin scored five runs in the third to go in front 6-0. The Dragons took advantage of three defensive miscues in the inning and also had five hits in the inning to take the big lead.

ODU's lone tallies came in the bottom of the third. Burson walked after a 10 pitch at bat, and Tisevich launched a home run to left-center, his third of the season, to make it 6-2.

The Panthers, though, left the bases loaded in that inning and never challenged in the final four frames.

ODU managed just six hits, two off the bat of senior Kyle Suminski (Fraser, Mich.).

The Panthers wrapped up a seven-game homestand with a 5-2 record, though. The Panthers are back in action with a four-game GLIAC series at Walsh this weekend, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu