COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team secured late-game leads in both halves of its home doubleheader with Walsh Friday afternoon, earning a pair of wins at Panther Valley, 9-8 and 9-5.

In the series opener, ODU scored nine of the final 10 runs, including once in the bottom of the eighth to win by one run, 9-8. The Panthers then posted a seven-run sixth inning to take the seven-inning Game Two, 9-5.

With the doubleheader sweep, Ohio Dominican improves to 20-8 overall and 12-8 in Great Midwest play. Walsh, who entered the day ranked third in the G-MAC standings, falls to 21-10 overall and 18-8 in the G-MAC.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Ohio Dominican had six extra-base hits on the day, including a pair of home runs from graduate senior Roger Danison (Carroll, Ohio).
• Danison went 4-for-7 over the doubleheader, driving in four runs, while also scoring four times.
• Junior Thomas Staab (Bellville, Ohio) went deep in the opener as well, and added a double and triple in the nightcap. Staab was 5-for-8 at the plate with a team-best eight RBI.
• Sophomore Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) collected four hits over two games, tying Danison for the team high in runs scored with four.
• Three relief pitchers combined for four innings of work in the opener, allowing a total of one run on one hit.
• Redshirt freshman Tyler Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded his second win of the season, while sophomore Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) earned the save.
• Freshman Michael Lesiecki (Urichsville, Ohio) went 6.1 innings in Game Two, as he improved to 3-2 on the season.
• Both offenses found success at the plate, as ODU and Walsh each had a team batting average over .350 on the day.
• The two sides combined for 46 hits, 31 runs and 14 extra-base hits during the doubleheader.

GAME ONE SUMMARY

• Staab and Hunt each logged three hits in Game One, as ODU rallied from a 7-0 deficit.
• The Cavaliers scored multiple runs in the first, second and fifth innings to lead 7-0.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Danison started a Panther rally with a leadoff single to center field. The senior later scored on a base hit from Hunt.
• With two outs in the fifth, Staab launched a long ball over the right field fence, closing the ODU gap to three runs, 7-4.
• After the four-run fifth, the Panthers kept the momentum going with four additional runs in the bottom of the sixth.
• Danison hit a two-run homer to right center to start the scoring, and Staab drove in two more with a base hit to give the Panthers their first lead of the game, 8-7.
• Walsh was quick to respond though, tying the game back up in the next half inning with a two-out double to right center.
• Sullivan worked out of a two-runner jam in the top of the eighth and the game-winning run scored in the bottom half of the innings. Hunt, who was attempting to steal from first base with two outs, came all the way home on a single from Staab.
• Brill came in to pitch the ninth and saw the bases loaded with just one out. The sophomore though, rolled a ground ball to the middle infield, as Hunt and sophomore David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) turned two to secure the ODU win.

GAME TWO SUMMARY

• Lesiecki retired seven of the first eight batters he face in Game Two, but ODU and Walsh were tied at 1-1 through three complete innings.
• Staab led off the bottom of the first with a triple to left center and came home to score in the next at-bat by graduate senior Jace Komminsk (Westerville, Ohio).
• Danison's line drive home run in the second half of the doubleheader came with two outs in the fourth frame. The solo shot gave ODU a 2-1 advantage.
• With the game tied at 2-2, the Panthers sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, scored seven runs on seven hits to take a 9-2 advantage.
• Eight of the first nine batters to come to the plate in the inning reached base safely, highlighted by RBI base hits from Danison, Hunt and freshman Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio).
• Staab and sophomore Derek Kutrubs (Brunswick, Ohio) also drove in two runs in the inning.
• Walsh chased Lesiecki from the game in the top of the seventh inning, as a three-run home run brought the Cavaliers within four, 9-5, with just one out in the frame.
• Freshman Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio) came into the game for ODU and faced just two batters, a strikeout and fly out, to give the Panthers the doubleheader sweep.

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican and Walsh will break for a day before concluding their weekend series in Panther Valley on Sunday, April 25.
• First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in Sunday's doubleheader.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu