MASON, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team scored 20 runs over two games Saturday, defeating both Findlay and Notre Dame (OH) at Prasco Park.

The Panthers started the day with a 14-2 win over Findlay, sweeping the Oilers in two meetings this weekend. Ohio Dominican then rallied to defeat Notre Dame on Saturday night, 6-5.

As a result, Ohio Dominican is 3-0 to start the 2021 season. The Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since 2018 and have won their first three games in seven of the past seven seasons.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Sophomore David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) finished the doubleheader 6-for-8 at the plate, driving in eight runs. Silva also hit the first home run of 2021 for ODU in the win over Findlay, and scored the game-winning run against Notre Dame.
• Scoring five runs and driving in four more was graduate senior Roger Danison (Carroll, Ohio). Danison was 3-for-7 over the two games.
• Silva, Danison and sophomore Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) combined for seven of ODU's 11 stolen bases. Through three games, the Panthers now have 18 stolen bases.
• Junior Zac Wilson (Hamilton, Ohio) went 3-for-5 against Findlay and finished the day 4-of-9 in the batter's box.
• On the mound, sophomore Grayson Hamilton (Lebanon, Ohio) and redshirt freshman Tyler Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) picked up wins. Hamilton started Game One, allowing just one run on six hits over seven innings of work. The sophomore struck out eight batters.
• Sullivan pitched 2.1 innings in relief against NDC, striking out two batters, while not allowing a hit.
• A trio of freshmen made their pitching debuts Saturday, highlighted by Derek Bolander's (Oregon, Ohio) scoreless ninth inning against NDC, earning him his first collegiate save. Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) tossed two innings in the opener, striking out three batters.

GAME ONE RECAP

• The Panthers' success with two outs was the story against Findlay. All 14 of ODU's runs came with two outs.
• ODU and UF were tied at 1-1 through four innings. Both sides score in the first frame, with junior Thomas Staab (Bellville, Ohio) scoring on an error in the top half. Staab led off the game with a base hit.
• With just one runner on in the top of the fifth and two outs, sophomore Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) walked, and Brill was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Danison then cleared the bases with a double down the right field line. The graduate senior then scored after stealing third and came across the plate on a base hit from Silva, giving ODU a 5-1 lead.
• ODU was able to load the bases again in the sixth, soring two runs off walks, followed by a two-RBI single from Silva. After the rally, ODU led 10-1.
• Silva launched a three-run home run in the top of the eighth and a base hit to left field from Staab in the ninth brought freshman Michael McFadden (Brunswick, Ohio) home for the final run of the game.

GAME TWO RECAP

• The night cap saw ODU and NDC combine for nine runs over the first three innings of play.
• The Panthers led 3-1 after the first inning. Brill and Silva both drove in runs, while Danison took advantage of a delayed steal from third base in a first-and-third situation to cross home plate.
• Notre Dame responded with three runs on four hits in the top half of the second frame to recapture the lead, 4-3. The Falcons matched ODU's one run in the third as well to lead 5-4.
• Freshman Michael Lesiecki (Uhrichsville, Ohio) started on the mound for the Black & Gold, allowing only one earned run over 5.2 innings of work. The Panthers though, finished with six errors in the game defensively.
• Despite the miscues on defense, ODU tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth. Danison hit a one-out double and scored the next at-bat, as Silva came up clutch again with a base hit.
• The two teams matched zeroes until the bottom of the eighth, when a sac fly from graduate senior Jace Komminsk (Westerville, Ohio) scored Silva for what would be the game-winning run.
• Bolander worked around two base runners in the ninth inning. With the tying run standing on third base, the freshman recorded a strike out to secure the win.

UP NEXT

• The Panthers will close out a busy weekend at Prasco Park with a single game against Notre Dame at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 28.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu