CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team suffered a pair of losses to Kutztown Sunday afternoon at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

ODU had a late lead in Game One before falling 5-4. Kutztown (4-2) then cruised to a 16-5 victory in the second half of the twin bill.

GAME ONE

Freshman Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) received his first collegiate start and did not allow a run over the first two innings of work. Brill was efficient during the stretch, allowing just one hit, while throwing only 20 pitches. The freshman would go on to record 3.2 innings on the mound, allowing three runs and striking out four batters.

The Panthers (1-7) scored the first run of the game, as sophomore Manny Vorhees (Wapakoneta, Ohio) crossed home plate on a two-out single to right field from freshman David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) in the bottom of the second inning. The Bear though, responded in the top half of the third inning with three runs. Kutztown tallied four hits in the frame, including back-to-back doubles to take a two-run advantage.

ODU threatened in the bottom of the third as graduate seniors Cory Contini (Dover, Ohio) and Roger Danison (Carroll, Ohio) reached via a single and walk, respectively, with only one out. The opportunity came to a halt though with an inning-ending groundball double play. Neither side scored in the fourth, as ODU worked out of a bases loaded jam to keep the score 3-1 in favor of KU.

Senior Danny Matic (Highland Heights, Ohio) was key in ODU working out of the fourth-inning jam and then pitched a clean fifth frame. In the bottom of the fifth, the Black & Gold tied the game at three-all, as Danison and senior Joey Machuga (Canfield, Ohio) each drove in a run.

Again, Panther pitching worked out of a jam in the sixth inning, this time with senior Tyler Dalzell (Amherst, Ohio). With the bases loaded, Dalzell struck out the only batter in his two- inning appearance to keep the game locked in the 3-3 stalemate. In the bottom half, Vorhees ripped a solo shot over the left field fence for the Panthers' first home run of the season.

With ODU up one run, 4-3, heading into the final frame, the Bears rattled off three consecutive hits to score twice and take a 5-4 lead. Machuga singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but it was not enough for the Panthers.

KU held a 9-7 advantage in hits, with both sides registering one error. Contini was the lone Panther with multiple hits in the opener, going 2-for-4.

GAME TWO

The Bears scored in each of the first three innings and tagged the Panthers for three runs in the first and six runs in the third to take a 10-0 lead.

ODU was held to just two hits over the first three frames, but a pair of hits in the fourth helped put the Black & Gold on the scoreboard. With the bases loaded, graduate senior Brad Hull (Gahanna, Ohio) hit a sac fly to right field to score Vorhees.

Danison collected a pair of hits in the night cap and led off the fifth with a single up the middle. The graduate senior eventually scored on a ground out by Vorhees. In the next at-bat, freshman Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) drove in Machuga with one of his two hits in the game, cutting the deficit to 10-3.

Sophomore Jake Daniel (Troy, Ohio) led off the bottom of the seventh with blast over the left field fence. The long ball was the first of his collegiate career. Sophomore Michael Lang (Cincinnati, Ohio) then walked and later scored on a wild pitch to give the Panthers their fifth run of the contest.  

Ohio Dominican and Kutztown are scheduled to conclude their three-game series in Chillicothe, Ohio with a noon first pitch on Monday, March 2.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu