Box Score AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Freshman Brad Wilson (Alexandria, Ohio) struck out 11 of the 22 batters he faced and Ohio Dominican's baseball team pounded out 16 hits as the Panthers defeated Wayne State (Neb.) 9-2 on Monday.
Wilson allowed just three hits and one unearned run in 6.0 innings. He threw 60 of his 87 pitches for strikes as he improved to 2-0 on the season.
The right hander struck out two batters in each of the first three innings, then punched out the side in the fourth. He also picked off a runner in each of the first two frames.
Sophomore Lee Sponseller (Mason, Ohio) put the Panthers (5-1) on the board with an RBI double in the first that plated junior Kyle Burson (Brunswick, Ohio), and junior Tony Evans (Medway, Ohio) singled back up the middle in the third to score sophomore Cody Paterniti (Chardon, Ohio).
The Panthers made it 3-0 in the fifth as Sponseller singled to right field to bring home Paterniti, but the Wildcats (3-7) answered with an unearned run in the bottom half to close back within two runs.
However, ODU broke the game open in the sixth inning with four runs on five hits. Freshman Chris Sackett (Loveland, Ohio) had an RBI single, Paterniti followed with an RBI double, and Evans and Sponseller each registered run-scoring singles as the Panthers built a 7-1 lead.
ODU tacked on two more runs in the eighth on an RBI basehit by senior Jacob Horsley (Thornville, Ohio) and a fielder's choice grounder by Sackett.
Sponseller matched a career best in hits as he went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Evans had three hits and two RBIs and Sackett had a pair of hits and RBIs.
Paterniti scored three runs and had two hits, while Horsley also had a pair of hits to help pace the offensive attack.
This is the fourth time in six games that ODU has recorded at least 10 hits and the Panthers have also scored nine or more runs four times. Overall, ODU is hitting .361 as a team, while the pitching staff has a 3.78 ERA.
Ohio Dominican continues play in Florida with a 9 a.m. game Tuesday against Minnesota-Duluth.
Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu
