COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team will host Kutztown for a three-game series in Chillicothe, Ohio this weekend.
SETTING THE SCENE: The weekend forecast has changed the dates and start times for the series between the Panthers and Golden Bears, which will now begin with a doubleheader at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 1. Both games played Sunday will be 7-inning contests. The two sides will then play a single, 9-inning game at noon on Monday, March 2. VA Memorial Stadium will be the host site for the series.
AT THE PLATE: Sophomore Michael Lang (Cincinnati, Ohio) is pacing the Panthers in batting average through two weeks with a .357 clip. Lang went 3-for-4 in the series finale against Grand Valley State last weekend. The sophomore has two doubles, RBI and runs scored in four appearances.
Senior Joey Machuga (Canfield, Ohio) is batting .300 this spring with a pair of RBI. The senior has also walked four times, to tie Lang for the team-high in on-base percentage, .400. Graduate Roger Danison (Carroll, Ohio) and sophomore Manny Vorhees (Wapakoneta, Ohio) drove in a combined seven runs in ODU's series-opening win over GVSU (10-5).
ON THE MOUND: Freshman Grayson Hamilton (Lebanon, Ohio) earned his first collegiate win last weekend, striking out 12 batters over 7.0 innings of work. Hamilton has the most innings pitched on the team this season, 12.0, and hoists a 3.75 ERA and 16 K's through two starts. Senior Clay Davies (Massillon, Ohio) received his first start in the series finale versus GVSU, working around six hits to allow one run in 5.0 innings of action.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: Kutztown is 2-2 this season after splitting a pair of doubleheaders at Chowan on Feb. 15 and 16. The Golden Bears were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team PSAC East and went 7-30 overall a year ago.
In 2020, Kutztown is averaging 6.0 runs per game and have scored seven-plus runs in both wins. The offense has a .287 batting average as well. Junior Collin Bishop is 8-for-12 on the year with three doubles, eight RBI and four runs scored.
On the mound, KU has a team ERA of 3.29. Freshman Matt Ziminsky tossed a scoreless five innings in a 7-5 win over Chowan. During the outing, the Ziminsky allowed four hits and one unearned run, while striking out seven.
ODU and KU met last season in North Carolina, with the Panthers earning a 5-4 victory in an 11-inning game.
Contact: Tyler Jester
jestert@ohiodominican.edu
