CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- Ohio Dominican baseball's Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) and Michael Knapp (Elyria, Ohio) stayed hot at the plate Saturday afternoon, as the Panthers swept a doubleheader against Notre Dame (OH) at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio, 7-3 and 7-4. 

The Panthers never trailed on the opening day of the weekend series with the Falcons. With the two wins, ODU improves to 3-2 overall, while NDC falls to 0-5 after play Saturday. 

Hunt and Knapp combined for 11 hits on the day. Knapp finished the doubleheader 6-for-8 at the plate and has hit safely in all five games this season. Hunt produced two or more hits in each game Saturday, giving him three straight outings with multiple hits. 

GAME ONE RECAP

In the series opener, the Panthers outhit NDC 12-7, and received another gem on the mound from Scott Rouse (Hinckley, Ohio). At the plate, Knapp posted a 4-for-5 effort, while Gianni Passarelli (Delaware, Ohio) reached base safely all four plate appearances with three hits and one walk. Both Knapp and Passarelli drove in two runs. 

Ohio Dominican was first to strike, scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning. Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) led off the frame with single through the right side, and his knowledge on the base path led to the game's first run. 

After back-to-back bunt singles helped lead NDC to the tying run in the top of the fifth, ODU scored three runs in the bottom of the inning, all with two outs. Devan Nail (Elyria, Ohio) started the rally with a two-out double. Knapp, double, and Passarelli, single, followed to provide the 4-1 advantage for the Panthers. 

Rouse allowed three runs in 7.1 innings of work. He also struck out six batters to earn his first win of the season.

Two runs from the Falcons made the score 5-3 in favor of ODU, but the Panthers matched the NDC scoring in the eighth frame to capture the 7-3 edge.

Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio), who entered to record the final out of the eighth inning, pitched a clean ninth frame to secure the ODU win and his first save of the season. Bolander faced five batters in relief and registered two strikeouts. 

GAME TWO RECAP

The Panthers took their momentum from Game One into the start of the nightcap, as their first four batters hit safely in the first inning. Hunt, Nail and Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) all scored in the inning to give ODU a 3-0 lead.

Nail drove in runs in the third and fourth innings as the Panthers led 5-0. Michael Lesiecki (Uhrichsville, Ohio) tossed four scorless innings, leaving five NDC runners stranded in the process. The Falcons, though, tagged the sophomore for four runs in the fifth to pull within one run. 

Myles Martinez (Columbus, Ohio) pitched the rest of the way for the Panthers. After getting out of a jam in the fifth inning, Martinez also needed to in the sixth. The Falcons loaded the bases with no outs, but Martinez struck out the next batter before forcing two infield pop ups to keep the Panthers in the lead. 

A RBI triple from Derek Kutrubs (Brunswick, Ohio), followed by a run-scoring single from Hunt placed the Panthers up 7-4 through five complete. Both runs came with two outs in the inning. 

Martinez, with a three-run lead, allowed just one base runner in the seventh and final inning. The left-hander struck out two batters before rolling a ground ball for his first save of the season. 

The top four in ODU's lineup, Hunt, Brill, Nail and Knapp, all logged multi-hit efforts in the second half of the doubleheader, combining to go 9-of-13 at the plate. Hunt had a team-high three hits, while Nail drove in a team-best three runners. 

UP NEXT

The Panthers and Falcons will conclude their four-game series with a scheduled doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 27. The twinbill is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu