2021 G-MAC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

GENERAL PUBLIC TICKET INFORMATION

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican baseball will look to continue its strong momentum to end the regular season as the team begins its postseason journey with the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament this week.

SETTING THE SCENE

• The Panthers enter tournament play with a 27-9 overall record, and earned the conference's No. 3 seed after finishing G-MAC play 19-9.
• ODU begins the postseason with Game One of the G-MAC Tournament at 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 12, against sixth-seeded Hillsdale.
• Eight teams qualified for the tournament and will all play once on Wednesday.
• The entire tournament will be held at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. More information on tickets can be found in the link above.
• The quest for a conference tournament begins on Wednesday and a champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 15, with the winner earning the G-MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

GOING STREAKING

• The Panthers enter Wednesday riding a six-game win streak, all of which have come against G-MAC opponents.
• Prior to breaking from action this past week, ODU went 6-0 the week prior, sweeping a doubleheader against then conference-leading Kentucky Wesleyan, and going 4-0 in a weekend set against Lake Erie.
• Since the start of April, ODU is 17-5, claiming five conference series victories and one series split (Malone).
• The stretch includes a 5-1 combined record against Walsh and KWC, the tournament's Nos. 2 and 4 seeds.
• Graduate senior Roger Danison (Carroll, Ohio) enters play riding a six-game hitting streak. During the stretch, Danison has a pair of multi-hit performances and a .444 average.
• Sophomore Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) and freshman Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) have the longest hitting streaks this season for ODU, each posting eight-game marks earlier this spring.
• Sophomore David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) has reached base safely in 33 games this season, including a stretch of 27 consecutive games, a run that came to an end on the last day of the regular season.
• Danison and classmate Jace Komminsk (Westerville, Ohio) have each reached base safely in seven consecutive games entering the matchup with Hillsdale.

PANTHERS HONORED AS G-MAC'S BEST

• Ohio Dominican's stellar season has been recognized by the G-MAC throughout the spring, as the Black & Gold have a conference-high seven player/pitcher of the week awards.
• Prior to the conference's final week of the regular season, one ODU did not participate in, the Panthers had won three consecutive player of the week honors.
• Sophomore Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) is the lone Panther to win the weekly honor multiple times this spring, having done so in two of ODU's final three weeks of competition.
• Komminsk, Silva and junior Thomas Staab (Bellville, Ohio) have also earned G-MAC player of the week honors, while freshman Scott Rouse (Hinckley, Ohio) has ODU's only pitcher of the week award this spring.
• Since joining the G-MAC in 2018, the Panthers have won a combined 22 player and pitcher of the week awards.

G-MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• The Panthers are now a perfect 3-for-3 in qualifying for the G-MAC Tournament and 2021 will mark the team's worst seeding at No. 3.
• ODU was the tournament's No. 2 seed in 2019 and the No. 1 North seed in 2018.
• Despite the strong seeding, ODU has struggled in the conference's postseason event, holding just a 3-4 record over two previous appearances.
• The Panthers lost both games in 2018 and dropped their opener in 2019 to the eventual champion, Tiffin, in extra innings.
• After the loss to the Dragons, ODU rattled off three straight wins before bowing out in the consolation bracket final to KWC.
• This season will mark the 35th all-time conference tournament appearance for ODU.
• The Panthers have won 14 conference tournament championships, but are still searching for their first in the Division II era (2011-present).
• ODU's last postseason tournament championship came in 2008 at the NAIA Region IX Tournament.
• The Black & Gold though do have some success in postseason play as a Division II member, as they qualified and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship game in 2018.

FAST START

• Ohio Dominican enjoyed its best season start in its Division II era, going 8-0 to begin this spring.
• The Panthers played all eight games at a neutral-site, including four at Prasco Park, as they will enter the conference tournament tied for the second longest neutral-site winning streak in the country (8 games).
•  It has not just been a fast start in terms of wins this season, but also in each outing.
• ODU has outscored its opponents 41-27 in the first inning, as well as 52-25 in the third frame.
• When leading after three innings ODU is 16-5 this season, and when the Panthers lead after six complete, they are 22-0.

PANTHERS MULTIPLYING

• A trio of Panthers have posted double-digit multi-hit performances this season, including David Silva with a team-best 16.
• Silva has 10 appearances with two hits and six games with three hits this spring.
• Thomas Staab and Alex Brill have 14 and 12 multi-hit games, respectively.
• Jace Komminsk leads the team with 10 multi-RBI games and has five outings this spring where he has driven in three or more runs.
• Brill, Silva and Roger Danison all have two-plus RBI in nine contests this season.

THE 300 CLUB

• Ohio Dominican has shown it has a deep and balanced offensive attack, as six players enter the G-MAC Tournament with a batting average north of .300.
• David Silva leads the team with a .378 average, which is seventh best in the conference.
• The Panthers have also shown some pop, as Alex Brill, Roger Danison and Jace Komminsk join Silva with slugging percentages over .500.
• Brill is batting .325 with a team-high 46 runs to go along with 34 RBI.
• Danison is second on the team, hitting .342, while driving in 36 and scoring 40 times.
• Komminsk is hitting .322 with an ODU-leading 36 RBI, which ranks seventh in the G-MAC.
• Brennen Hunt and Thomas Staab are also hitting over .300 this spring.

PANTHERS POWERING UP

• The Panthers have proven to have one of the most explosive offenses in the G-MAC, ranking second in the conference with a scoring average of 7.9 runs per game.
• ODU has scored 10-plus runs in 12 games this season, holding an 11-1 record when reaching double-digits.
• At the plate, Alex Brill is fourth in the conference with a .675 slugging percentage, as he leads the team with nine home runs and 15 doubles. Brill ranks second in the G-MAC and top 25 nationally with his double count.
• Roger Danison, Jace Komminsk and David Silva all have 10-plus doubles this spring and Komminsk is second on the squad with six long balls.
• Despite playing fewer games than most teams in the G-MAC, ODU ranks in the top in total doubles (78), triples (12) and home runs (32), and is third in the conference with a team slugging percentage of .480.

SWIPING BAGS

• The Panthers have relied on their speed to help manufacture offense this season, as the team is 104-122 in stolen base attempts.
• ODU's 104 total swipes and 2.89 steals per game lead the G-MAC and rank third nationally.
• The Panthers have stolen four or more bases in 12 games this season, including all four of its games at Prasco Park to open the season.
• The team's highest bag count this spring came against Hillsdale, where ODU stole 10 bases in 11 tries (March 13).
• Thomas Staab leads all of NCAA Division II with 31 stolen bases, as the junior has only been caught stealing four times.
• Staab ranks fifth nationally across all three NCAA divisions in stolen bases.
• ODU has five players in the top eight of the conference steals, including Staab (31-35), Alex Brill (20-23), David Silva (16-21), Brennen Hunt (15-18), and Roger Danison (14-14).

ODU'S STARTING TRIO

• Ohio Dominican has relied on three main starting pitchers throughout the spring.
• The Panthers are 20-6 when Scott Rouse, junior Brendan Hofacre (Chardon, Ohio) and freshman Michael Lesiecki (Uhrichsville, Ohio) get the nod.
• Rouse holds a team-best 5-2 record, as the freshman has a 3.75 ERA with three complete games and a save.
• Rouse has seven-plus strikeouts in six starts this spring and has fanned 57 batters over 60.0 innings of work.
• The freshman has a complete game, nine-inning shutout this season, allowing just one hit in a win over Cedarville (April 2).
• Hofacre is currently 3-0, but when he starts on the mound, the Panthers have not lost in eight tries.
• The junior transfer in his first season with ODU has thrown 37.1 innings and has a 6.99 ERA.
• Hofacre has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his past four outings, and last time out went 5.2 innings, allowing one run against Lake Erie (May 1).
• Lesiecki has been in the No. 2 slot of the Panthers pitching order this spring and is 3-2 with a 7.68 ERA and 32 strikeouts.
• The freshman made his collegiate debut at Prasco Park, allowing one earned run over 5.2 innings of work against Notre Dame (OH) (Feb. 27).

OUT OF THE PEN

• Ohio Dominican's bullpen has been solid throughout the spring and come up big in stressful situations.
• Freshman Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio) leads the team with a 1.93 ERA. Bolander has thrown 18.2 innings over 11 appearances and is tied for first in the G-MAC and 14th nationally with six saves.
• Bolander, who has allowed just four earned runs all season, enters the postseason having not allowed a run over his past four outings, a 5.1 inning stretch.
• Redshirt freshman Tyler Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) has made the most pitching appearances for ODU, 15, throwing 23.1 innings in relief. Sullivan has a 5.40 ERA and holds a 2-2 record.
• In his first season of action at ODU, Sullivan has six appearances of two-plus innings. He also has thrown scoreless outings in six of his last seven appearances.
• Redshirt freshman Myles Martinez (Columbus, Ohio) has an unblemished 4-0 record this spring with a 2.40 ERA. Over eight appearances, Martinez has thrown 15 innings, striking out 15 batters.
• Martinez opened the season by not allowing a run over his first nine innings of action.
• Alex Brill has come on as another option for ODU out of the bullpen, as he is 3-0 with a pair of saves. Brill has not allowed a run over his last five innings of work, a stretch that has him 2-0 with two saves.

HILLSDALE SERIES

• Ohio Dominican's first opponent, Hillsdale, is 19-21 overall and 15-17 in the G-MAC.
• The Chargers had lost three of four games in four straight conference series prior to closing the regular season 3-1 against Findlay last weekend.
• This will be the first meeting between ODU and Hillsdale in the G-MAC Tournament.
• The two teams split a four-game set at Hillsdale to begin conference play at the beginning of March.
• All-time, ODU is 23-11 against HC, including a 1-0 mark in postseason play (4-3 in 2018 NCAA Midwest Regional).
• Wednesday will also mark ODU's 10th straight game against Hillsdale either on the road or at a neutral site. The Panthers are 7-2 over the stretch.

TOP HALF OF THE BRACKET

• ODU's second game of the tournament will come against either No. 2 Walsh or No. 7 Cedarville.
• The Panthers went 3-1 at home against both teams during the month of April.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu