WASHINGTON, Pa. - To open the 2026 season, the Ohio Dominican Panthers (0-3) baseball team headed to the Pittsburgh suburbs to take on the California (Pa.) Vulcans (3-0) at EQT Park. 

The Vulcans completed the sweep of the Panthers with a series-opening win on Thursday (Feb. 19) and taking both ends of the doubleheader on Friday (Feb. 20). 

Game 1 (Thursday - L, 15-10)

• California (Pa.) scored two runs in the first inning and added one in the third inning for a 3-0 lead. 
• One swing for the Panthers cut the lead to one in the fourth inning. Sawyer Hamsher led off with a walk and scored on a two-run home run by Steven Chapman. 
• After four runs for the Vulcans in the fourth inning, the Panthers got a big inning as they scored seven runs with four balls in play, no hits, six walks and three hit batters. Trailing 7-2, 13 batters went to the plate as when the dust settled, ODU was up 9-7. Tristan Schuerman and Jonah Hane walked in runs with the bases loaded while Hamsher, Chapman and Noah Schacht all were hit by pitches, driving in runs. Mason Kurtz had a sacrifice fly and Grant Horne plated a run with a fielder's choice. In the middle of the inning, there was a 40 minute rain delay after the first seven batters reached base. 
• Cal (Pa.) answered with two runs in the fifth and sixth innings and piled on four runs in the seventh for a 15-9 lead. 
• In the ninth inning, ODU finished the scoring with a run on three hits. Kurtz and Hane singled before Tryce Chaffin doubled home one run as the score was 15-10. 
• Chapman, Kurtz and Chaffin had two hits each while Chapman drove in three runs. Hamsher and Chapman combined for four runs scored.
• Landon Ringhiser was the Opening Day starter with seven runs allowed on nine hits in 3.2 innings pitched. Bryson Shumate (L, 0-1) and Jack Knight allowed four runs each in 1.2 and 2.2 innings, respectively.

Game 2 (Friday - L, 7-2 in seven innings)

• The Vulcans started off Friday with three runs scored in the second inning as the Panthers scored in the next two innings.
• For the third inning, Sam Battles reached on an error and came all the way around the bases to score. He went station-to-station on an infield single, sacrifice bunt and a RBI groundout by Kurtz. 
• One inning later, Chapman and Hamsher singled in back-to-back at-bats. Following two strikeouts, Battles singled home Chapman as the Panthers trailed 3-2.
• Cal (Pa.) pulled away with a run in the fourth and three in the fifth to win 7-2. 
• Seven of the nine starters had singles in the game as the Panthers totaled seven hits. 
• Chapman (L, 0-1) made his first start of the season and gave up seven runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. Andrew Holcomb pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in his debut. 

Game 3 (Friday - L, 12-6)

• For the third straight game, California (Pa.) scored first with two runs in the second inning for a 2-0 lead. 
• A third inning answer trimmed the lead to 2-1 with a RBI single. Horne kicked off the inning with an infield single to the shortstop. He stole second base and came home on a RBI single by Chapman. 
• After one run scored in the fourth inning, the Vulcans plated three runs in the fifth and six runs in the eighth inning as they led 12-1. 
• A five-run ninth inning made things interesting as ODU has ten batters step to the plate with one hit, six walks and two balls in play. The first two batters, Jack Lion and Jack Wells, walked before a passed ball put both runners in scoring position. A throwing error scored Lion as Horne added a third straight walk. Chaffin singled to load the bases. ODU got three walks in the next four batters as Kurtz, Chapman and Logan Highley plated runs. Garrett Roach added the final run on a sacrifice fly. 
• Chapman had his second multi-RBI game of the series with two RBI and one hit. 
• Jaxson Stried (L, 0-1) fanned six batters in his start with three runs (two earned) on six hits in four innings. Andrew Mouch tossed one inning of relief with three runs allowed. Colin Hennessey pitched two scoreless innings as Carson Willis and Nick Cody combined for six runs (four earned runs) in one inning. 

ODU will head to Columbus, Georgia on Saturday (Feb. 28) and Sunday (March 1) for a three-game series with Columbus State.