COLUMBUS - It might not have gone according to plan but the Ohio Dominican Panthers baseball team entered Easter break with a series win over the Cedarville Yellow Jackets on Saturday (April 8).
Cedarville took the opening contest of the day 4-3 despite a late ODU rally. Ohio Dominican walked off in the 11th inning of the second game, a 11-9 win. Cedarville rallied in the ninth inning but Ohio Dominican got the last laugh in Panther Valley.
GAME ONE
The Panthers started the scoring in the second inning, taking advantage of an error by Cedarville. David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) singled and made it all the way to third base on a failed pickoff attempt by the Yellow Jackets. Devan Nail (Elyria, Ohio) doubled home Silva with a big RBI double to right center field, giving ODU a 1-0 lead.
Cedarville scored two runs in the fourth, one run in the fifth and seventh innings for a 4-1 lead.
ODU rallied in the seventh inning as they tried to close the gap in the final at-bats. Michael McFadden (Brunswick, Ohio) walked with one out and was lifted for a pinch runner in Michael Knapp (Elyria, Ohio). A groundout and wild pitch allowed Knapp to get to third base. Jordan Daniels (Blacklick, Ohio) walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. Lane Marshall (Wooster, Ohio) and Jack Mathey (Copley, Ohio) delivered back-to-back RBI singles to score Knapp and Daniels. Silva walked to load the bases but the Panthers left the bases juiced to end the game.
Senior Marshall Flynn (Heath, Ohio) pitched his second complete game of the season, allowing four runs in seven innings with six strikeouts.
Silva and Nail each had two hits as the top five spots of the lineup accounted for the duration of ODU's seven hits.
GAME TWO
The Yellow Jackets struck first with a run in the second inning as the Panthers tallied two response runs in the bottom half. Nail walked with one out and Mason Kurtz (Ostrander, Ohio) doubled him to third base. Brennen Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) singled home two runs as ODU gained back the 2-1 lead.
After a single Cedarville run in the fifth that tied the game at two, ODU followed up again with a big response. Daniels lined a double to right center and crossed the plate on a RBI triple by Marshall. Silva walked. forcing the Yellow Jackets to make a pitching change. After the change, two errors on the same play brought two runs home. The new pitcher tried to pickoff Silva at first base but the throw got past the first baseman. Marshall scored on the E1 and while Silva was getting to third base, the relay throw from the first baseman sailed past the infield and Silva came around to score. The Panthers led 5-2 after five innings.
ODU loaded the bases in the sixth with no outs. Kurtz walked before Hunt reached on a bunt single. A successful double steal came before a walk from Knapp. Cedarville went to the bullpen again and the Panthers made quick work of the new hurler. Daniels walked in a run and Marshall delivered a sacrifice fly to left field. Two more runs made the ODU lead 7-2 after six innings.
Cedarville scored one run in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Silva walked and continued to wreck havoc on the basepaths. He stole second base and moved to third after the throw missed the second base and went into center field. McFadden plated Silva with a sacrifice fly.
Knapp opened the next inning with a ground-rule double over the right field fence. A groundout pushed Knapp to third base and a wild pitch scored him as the lead grew to 9-3 going into the next inning.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Cedarville scored six unearned runs to tie the game and force extra innings.
ODU had the opportunity to win in the tenth inning with the bases loaded but Cedarville escaped on a close play at first base.
Cedarville looked to take the lead in the 11th inning but a late double play got ODU out of trouble. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Matthew Bame (Westerville, Ohio) walked as the leadoff batter. A sacrifice bunt and groundout got Bame to third base, bringing up Hunt to the plate with two outs and the winning run 90 feet away. Hunt delivered a two-run, walk-off blast to left center field for the 11-9 win.
Here's the walk-off ?? by Brennen Hunt from game two! @TBellPBP on the ???call on the #GreatMidwest Digital Network. #ClawsOut pic.twitter.com/SHuof26D5v
— ODU Panthers (@ODUAthletics) April 9, 2023
Hunt had a three-hit game with four RBI and two runs scored. Knapp added a two-hit game with Nail and Daniels walking twice with one hit each.
Billy Criblez (Mantua, Ohio) pitched into the ninth inning as he neared a nine-inning complete game. Over a career-high 8.2 innings, Criblez allowed nine runs (two earned) with a season-best four strikeouts. Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out four batters to lock down the win.
The Panthers will step away from G-MAC play with a Tuesday (April 11) matchup with the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds. First pitch from Indy is set for 1:00 PM.
