The Dragons (0-2) opened with the first of a four-game series against Wayne State at the VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio on Friday afternoon, suffering a 9-3 defeat after a big seventh inning from the Warriors.

Wayne State got off to a quick start, bringing home two runs in the bottom of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Tiffin responded in the next half inning after a single by Alex Diehl advanced Adam Deitschel to third and later scored on a wild pitch.

The Warriors restored their two-run advantage in the bottom half of the second and clung to it until the sixth inning when Deitschel fired a solo home run over the right field wall to pull the Dragons within one yet again.

The game was blown open in the bottom of the seventh where WSU rallied six runs together to take a commanding 9-2 lead. TU added one more run in the ninth on an RBI single from Ty Hatfield.

Noah Kandel tossed 5.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on just two hits and tallying five strikeouts. Scotty Adelman closed out the remaining three innings and allowed six runs on seven hits with three punchouts.

Hatfield was the only batter to record multiple hits, ending 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Aidan Grabowski finished 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored while Deitschel was 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI.

The series continues with game two beginning at noon tomorrow, February 24.