COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican baseball team returns to action with four neutral-site games against Notre Dame (OH) this weekend.

SERIES INFO

• ODU and NDC are scheduled for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 26 and 27. Both days will begin with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
• Saturday is scheduled to feature a nine-inning game in the opener, followed by a seven-inning contest. Sunday will be a pair of seven-inning games.
• All four games will take place at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
• The Panthers are 11-0 all-time against NDC, including a pair of neutral site victories last February, 6-5 and 10-5.

LAST WEEK RECAP

• Forecast effected ODU's season-opening series at Cal U, but the Panthers were still able to travel to Washington, Pa. for a three game series, compiling a 1-2 record.
• ODU dropped both sets of a doubleheader on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1-0 and 8-0, before rallying for a 5-3 triumph on Sunday, Feb. 20.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) and Michael Knapp (Elyria, Ohio) each registered five hits in the Cal U series to lead the offense.
• Hunt left the weekend with a .417 average and five stolen bases. The infielder's 1.7 swipes per game lead the G-MAC and rank fifth across Division II.
• In his first series appearance with the Panthers, Knapp, a Charleston (W.Va.) transfer, slashed .455/.500/.545. His batting average ranks second best in the conference, as he also leads ODU with two runs scored.
• Derek Kutrubs (Brunswick, Ohio) and Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) join Knapp with an extra-base hit, giving the Panthers three through three games. Marshall also has a team-best three RBI.

PITCHING NOTES

• Eight different pitchers saw action for the Panthers during the Cal U series.
• Scott Rouse (Hinckley, Ohio) tossed a complete game in the opener, allowing just the one run on one hit. Rouse also recorded the final out of ODU's win in the series finale, compiling 6.1 innings of work, eight strikeouts and one save through the two appearances.
• Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio) and Andrew Deyhle (Cincinnati, Ohio) each logged a scoreless appearance. Bolander threw 3.1 innings in the finale, while Deyhle pitched a clean inning in Game Two of the Cal U series.
• Tyler Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) earned ODU's lone pitching victory of the week, allowing one run in 3.1 innings of relief work.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME

• The Eagles fell in all three games of its season-opening series against Indianapolis last weekend.
• Notre Dame dropped the opener, 5-0, before losing both halves of a doubleheader on Feb. 20, 15-14 and 13-3.
• In 2021, the Eagles finished 17-23 overall and 14-18 in Mountain East Conference play.
• NDC is less than three years removed from a MEC Tournament Championship appearance in 2019, a season they went 28-27 overall.
• Notre Dame was selected fifth in the MEC Preseason Coaches Poll for the six-team North Division.
• The Eagles did receive one first place vote in the preseason poll this winter.

UP NEXT

• After the four-game set with NDC, ODU will travel back to Pennsylvania for a three-game series with East Stroudsburg.
• The Panthers' third straight Atlantic Region opponent, ESU, will welcome ODU on March 5 and 6.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu