COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Winners of nine of its past 10 games, Ohio Dominican's baseball team enters the final weekend of GLIAC regular season play with its sights set on qualifying for the conference tournament and challenging for the top spot in the standings.
The Panthers play host to Findlay in a four game series this weekend, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.
ODU (25-16, 16-12 GLIAC) needs just one win over the weekend to clinch its bid in the tournament. The Panthers, currently the fifth seed, are three games clear of Lake Erie and three and a half in front of Saginaw Valley for the final at large spot in the tournament.
The Panthers are also still in the chase to win the regular season title as they trail first place Ashland and Grand Valley by three games. Both the Eagles and Lakers are 19-9 heading into the GLIAC's final weekend.
In the past 10 games, ODU is batting .330 as a squad, slugging .441, and has outscored its opponents 72-30. Freshman Lee Sponseller (Mason, Ohio) is hitting .429 with 12 runs scored, five doubles, a homer and nine batted in during that stretch, while Jacob Horsley (Thornville, Ohio) is hitting .389 with seven RBI.
Freshman Justin Childers (Pickerington, Ohio) is batting .378 with a team-best 11 RBI in the stretch and freshman Jacob Tisevich (North Canton, Ohio) has hit three homers, scored nine runs and driven in seven.
The pitching staff has shined in this stretch as well with a 2.68 ERA and limiting opponents to a .218 batting average against. Junior Ryan Colegate (Centerville, Ohio) is sporting a 3-0 record with 0.63 ERA and freshman Joe Filosa (Fort Wayne, Ind.) is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA. Filosa has allowed just seven hits in 15.0 innings and Colegate nine in 14.1 innings.
Senior Vince Bartolone (Broadview Heights, Ohio) is 1-0 with three saves and a 1.17 ERA, and freshman Tyler Magley (Baltimore, Ohio) is 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA in 14.2 innings.
Overall, the Panthers rank fourth in the GLIAC with a .300 batting average and .381 on-base percentage, and ODU is third with a .389 slugging percentage. The pitching staff is sixth with a 4.17 ERA.
Sponseller continues to lead the conference in batting (.414) and on-base percentage (.503) while ranking second in slugging (.614). He's fourth in home runs (five) and sixth in RBI (34).
Tisevich is seventh with his four home runs and fourth in triples (three) and senior Kyle Tisdale (Uniontown, Ohio) ranks third in walks (30) and seventh in OBP (.455).
On the mound, Colegate leads the GLIAC in wins (eight) and ERA (1.72). He ranks second in innings pitched (62.2) behind teammate and senior Ryan Bidwell (Syracuse, N.Y.) with 64.1 innings. Filosa is eighth in wins with five this spring.
The Oilers enter this weekend with a 12-32 record overall (7-21 GLIAC). Findlay has dropped six of its last seven games. They rank 12th in the GLIAC in batting average (.219) and runs (127) and are eighth in ERA (4.57) and sixth in opponents' batting average against (.270).
Chase Goulette leads the team with a .290 batting average and 13 RBI while Logan Harrah is hitting .282. Austin Rodesky paces the pitching staff with three wins and 51 strikeouts to go along with a 3.42 ERA. Alex Williams has six saves and struck out 45 batters in 35.0 innings.
Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu
