COLUMBUS - The Ohio Dominican Panthers baseball team returned to Great Midwest action with a doubleheader against the Lake Erie College Storm on Sunday (March 26) afternoon. 

On the help of five multi-run innings on the day, the Panthers picked up wins of 7-5 and 9-0 as they improved to 11-10 overall and 4-2 in the G-MAC. 

GAME ONE

A quick start by the Panthers gave the home team a 6-0 lead after two innings. Jack Mathey (Copley, Ohio) reached on an infield single as the second batter of the game. A fielding error in left field put two runners on base with one out. Michael O'Callaghan (Morrow, Ohio) loaded the bases with a bloop job to right field. Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) doubled home two runs with a shot down the left field line before Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left field. The first inning gave ODU a 3-0 lead. 

Back-to-back second inning blasts by Jordan Daniels (Blacklick, Ohio) and Mathey doubled the ODU lead to 6-0. Mathey leads the Panthers with three homers while Daniels hit his second of the season, this time a two-run blast. 

In the next two innings, Lake Erie closed the gap to 6-5 with three runs in the third and two runs in the fourth. 

Derek Bolander (Oregon, Ohio) got into the fifth inning before turning things over to right-hander Billy Criblez (Mantua, Ohio). Bolander tallied five runs allowed (two earned) on five hits with six walks and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Criblez scattered two hits and one walk in two scoreless innings pitched, getting his second win this week. He bridged the gap into the seventh inning, keeping the game at 6-5 before Myles Martinez (Columbus, Ohio) entered the game. Martinez tied a career-high with six strikeouts in a perfect 2.2 innings, for his fifth save of the season. 

David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) singled and stole both second and third base in the seventh inning, a part of four steals in the series opener. He crossed the plate on a fielding error by the Storm first baseman, allowing O'Callaghan to reach base. ODU won the opener 7-5. 

Seven of the Panthers starters had hits in the game, including two-hit games from Mathey and Silva, each scoring twice. 

GAME TWO

With the aid of some timely hitting, Michael Lesiecki (Uhrichsville, Ohio) cruised through the game with a complete game shutout. Lesiecki fanned a career-high eight batters while scattering three singles in seven innings. 

Brill wasted little time with a two-run blast to left field in the first inning, scoring Daniels, who opened the game with a leadoff single. Brill's second blast of the campaign put ODU ahead 2-0 after one frame. 

Ohio Dominican showed poise in the second inning, walking three straight times with two outs. With the bases loaded, Mathey lined a ball at the third baseman. The third baseman booted the ball as two runs scored. Following the fourth walk of the inning to reload the bases, Brill struck again with a two-run single. Brill had four runs batted in within the first two innings as the four-run second expanded the lead to 6-0. 

Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) doubled to open the third inning and moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt. He later scored on a sacrifice fly from Mason Kurtz (Ostrander, Ohio). Gianni Passarelli (Delaware, Ohio) walked and came all the way around to score on a Mathey RBI single. The Panthers led 8-0 after three innings. 

Later in the sixth inning, Hunt struck again with a RBI knock after Brill reached second on an error and Marshall singled to center field. The final score of the game was 9-0, the first shutout since April 3rd, 2021 against Cedarville. 

Daniels, Brill and Hunt all had three hit games, combining for nine of the 11 hits. 

The series continues on Monday (March 27) in Panther Valley at 12:00 PM. 

Contact: Tyler Stotsky
stotskyt@ohiodominican.edu