TOLEDO, Ohio - After wrapping up the first conference series on Monday (March 20), the Ohio Dominican Panthers baseball team traveled to Northwest Ohio on Tuesday (March 21) for a non-conference matchup with the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. The Panthers and Cardinals met in Toledo at Mercy Health Field, home to the Toledo Central Catholic Fighting Irish. 

Ohio Dominican tallied a season-high 18 runs on 19 hits in a 18-5 win over Saginaw Valley to improve to 9-10 on the season. 

ODU did not waste any time in the game, scoring three runs in the first inning. Jack Mathey (Copley, Ohio) doubled home Jordan Daniels (Blacklick, Ohio), who walked to open the game. Michael O'Callaghan (Morrow, Ohio) walked with one out and came around to score on a RBI single from Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio). Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) tripled to right field, plating Brill as ODU led 3-0. 

After a six-run inning on Monday in game two against Malone, the Panthers followed it up with six runs in the second inning. After two singles to start the frame by Jake Scherette (Brunswick, Ohio) and Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio), Daniels tried to put down a bunt. He beat the throw to first but the Cardinals pitcher threw the ball awy, bringing Scherette home on the error. David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) walked, loading the bases with one out. O'Callaghan singled home one run before Brill plated two with a single. Mason Kurtz (Ostrander, Ohio) reached on a RBI fielder's choice while Scherette brought a run home on his second hit of the inning. When the inning was over, Ohio Dominican led 9-0. 

Mathey homered for the second straight day as he lifted a fly ball to left field in the third inning. 

Saginaw Valley broke the Panther scoring run with two runs in the fourth but the Panthers restarted in the bottom half. With the bases loaded on two singles and a walk, Mathey drove in two runs on an infield as Hunt scored from second base. The score was 12-2 after four frames. 

Five more runs crossed the plate in the fifth inning on four hits and two SVSU errors. Kurtz doubled in a run following two straight singles. Scherette reached on a RBI infield single with an error scoring a run. Hunt and Silva had a RBI groundout and sacrifice fly, respectively. Later in the frame, an E6 had the final run cross the plate. Ohio Dominican held a 17-2 lead as the game headed to the sixth. 

The Cardinals tallied two runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh inning, closing the gap to 17-5. 

After Matthew Bame (Westerville, Ohio) tripled in the seventh, Sam Battles (Norwalk, Ohio) scored him on a RBI groundout to finish the scoring. 

Billy Criblez (Mantua, Ohio) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing four runs in 5.2 innings for the win. Chance Woods (Columbus, Ohio) closed out the sixth inning, getting the only out he needed. Brill pitched the seventh inning with one run allowed and three strikeouts. Nick Bockelman (Avon Lake, Ohio) made his Panther debut with two strikeouts in a scoreless eighth inning. Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio) closed out the ninth inning with a strikeout. 

22 players (18 position players, four pitchers) saw the field as nine of them combined for the 19 hits on the day. Marshall ended with four hits with two runs scored. Mathey had another three-hit game with four RBI while Brill and Scherette each had three hits apiece. Brill and Daniels scored three runs. Daniels reached base five times overall as one of two players with three walks (Silva). Hunt added two hits and a pair of runs. 

The Panthers will take a two-game winning streak into conference play this weekend against Lake Erie. They are scheduled to host the Lake Erie Storm in Panther Valley on Saturday (March 25) and Sunday (March 26), weather permitting. 

Contact: Tyler Stotsky
stotskyt@ohiodominican.edu