COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team is set to welcome Cedarville for its home-opening four-game series this weekend.

SETTING THE SCENE

• The Panthers (10-4, 2-4 G-MAC), who will have played just twice in 19 days, welcome Cedarville for the home opener on Friday, April 2.
• ODU and CU will then close out the series with another doubleheader on Saturday, April 3.
• Both dates will start at 1 p.m., with the series going as followed: nine, seven, seven, nine inning games.
• Friday will mark the first time in 704 days the Ohio Dominican baseball team will play a game at Frank Damian Field in Panther Valley.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Panthers dropped both halves of a doubleheader for the first time in 2021, falling 4-2 and 4-3 at Trevecca Nazarene back on March 26.
• The final two games of the series were postponed due to weather.
• Sophomore Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) tied the first game with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, 3-3.
• Trevecca scored in the bottom of the ninth in the opener on a walk-off single to left field.
• Trailing 4-0 in Game Two, ODU's seventh-inning rally was halted at two runs.

RUNNING AND STEALING

• As we enter April, ODU still leads the Great Midwest in runs (8.1) and stolen bases (3.9) per game.
• The Panthers have scored double-digit runs in six games and have five-plus runs in all but three outings this spring.
• Brill paces the Panthers and the G-MAC with 22 runs scored through 14 games. The sophomore has crossed home plate multiple times in eight games this season.
• On the bases, ODU has swiped a total of 54 bags, which is the sixth-highest mark in Division II. The team's stolen base average ranks fourth in Division II and top 15 across all three NCAA divisions.
• Junior Thomas Staab (Bellville, Ohio) leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with 15 swipes. Staab also tied the conference record earlier this year with five steals in a seven-inning game against Fairmont State.
• Sophomores David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) and Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) are both top five in the G-MAC with 11 and 10 stolen bases, respectively.

SILVA LEADING ODU OFFENSE

• The Panthers' most consistent hitter this spring has been David Silva.
• Silva is leading ODU with a .383 batting average, which is also top 10 in the G-MAC.
• The infielder has added 15 walks for a .532 OBP and has 15 RBI and 14 runs scored over 14 appearances.
• The G-MAC's first offensive player of the week of 2021, Silva has posted multiple hits in six games this season.

UPPERCLASSMEN PROVIDING THE POWER

• Graduate seniors Jace Komminsk (Westerville, Ohio) and Roger Danison (Carroll, Ohio) have been key cogs in the Panther lineup this year.
• Komminsk is batting .333 and has a team-best eight extra-base hits (six doubles, two home runs).
• The catcher/outfielder is slugging .600 this spring, which is top five in the conference. Komminsk has a team-high 18 RBI and 12 runs as well.
• Danison, powered by a 5-for-5 game against Hillsdale, is batting .295 this spring with 14 RBI and 19 runs scored.
• In the game against HC, Danison hit both of his home runs this season, and drove in and scored five times each.
• Danison has one of just seven multi-homer games in the G-MAC this spring, while his five-run game is tied for the most by a conference player in 2021.

ON THE BUMP

• A trio of Panthers have two wins this season, including junior Brendan Hofacre (Chardon, Ohio), sophomore Grayson Hamilton (Lebanon, Ohio) and freshman Scott Rouse (Hinckley, Ohio).
• Rouse leads ODU with 24.1 innings of work, making a team-high four starts. The freshman has a 3.70 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
• Hamilton was ODU's ace in the shortened 2020 season and is off to another strong start this spring. The sophomore has a 2.00 ERA with 17 strikeouts over three starts and 18.0 innings pitched.
• Freshman Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio) has registered four saves and a 1.93 ERA in five appearances, while redshirt freshman Tyler Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) leads ODU with seven appearances, all in relief.

ABOUT CEDARVILLE

• Cedarville dropped a pair of non-conference games last weekend to Wittenberg and Indiana Tech, which snapped a five-game winning streak.
• The Yellow Jackets travel to Columbus with an 8-8 overall mark and are 5-3 in the G-MAC.
• Cedarville was picked 10th in the preseason coaches poll for the G-MAC and is 3-4 away from home this spring.
• Since joining NCAA Division II, Ohio Dominican has not lost to Cedarville. Since 2014, ODU is 9-0 against the Yellow Jackets.
• The Panthers took all four games against CU at home in 2019.
• Entering the weekend series having played the past seven meetings of the series at Panther Valley.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu