COLUMBUS, Ohio – Junior Kyle Burson (Brunswick, Ohio) drove home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and freshman Garret Sendelbach (Tiffin, Ohio) punched out the side in the ninth as Ohio Dominican's baseball team fended off Hillsdale 9-8 on a chilly Sunday afternoon in Panther Valley.

With the score locked at 8-8 in the top of the eighth inning, Hillsdale had runners on first and second with two outs, but senior Colman Fitzgerald (Centerville, Ohio) made a shoestring catch on a sinking liner in the right-center gap to keep the game tied.

Sophomore Justin Childers (Pickerington, Ohio) then started the home half of the inning by lining the first pitch he saw to the wall in left for a double. Two batters later, Burson hit a liner to left that brought home Childers and put the Panthers in front 9-8.

Sendelbach, who had entered in the eighth, struck out the leadoff man looking in the ninth before getting a pair of swing-and-misses to end the game.

With the win, ODU took two of three games in the series with the Chargers this weekend and improved to 11-3-1 on the year, while Hillsdale fell to 12-6.

Childers finished 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI, freshman Genesis Hillard (Cincinnati, Ohio) had two hits and scored three times and classmate Colin Kaucher (Toledo, Ohio) drove in three runs.

The Panthers struck first with a pair of runs in the first inning as sophomore Lee Sponseller (Mason, Ohio) battled back from an 0-2 count to line an RBI single to left and Childers followed with a sacrifice fly.

Hillsdale countered with six runs in the top of the second inning, including a pair of home runs and a two-run triple, to take a 6-2 lead.

ODU responded in the bottom as sophomore Max Banke (Oakwood, Ohio) drilled a double in the left-center gap to start the inning and later scored on an error. Hillard added an RBI double and Kaucher had an RBI grounder to bring the Panthers to within 6-5.

Kaucher's sac fly in the fourth drew ODU even at 6-6, and after Hillsdale put up a single run in the fifth, ODU tied it again on Childers' RBI double in the bottom of the fifth.

The Chargers regained a one-run lead with a tally in the sixth, but Hillard scored on Kaucher's RBI grounder in the seventh to bring the game level again.

Sendelbach picked up his first collegiate win as he struck out for in 1.2 innings of relief. Sophomore Matt Meihls (Fort Wayne, Ind.) allowed three hits and two runs in 4.0 innings of relief, fanning three batters.

Sponseller went 2-for-4 as he extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games.

The Panthers have now scored nine or more runs in nine of their 15 games this season.

Ohio Dominican begins conference play with a doubleheader at Ashland at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu