Tiffin University baseball (3-2) dropped the series finale against the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears on Monday at Logansport High School in Indiana 13-11. Although the Dragons were unable to get the sweep, Tiffin still managed to win the series by winning two of the three games. The two teams were scheduled to play four games with game one being played on Saturday, but that game was cancelled.
The Golden Bears struck first in the second inning and took a 3-0 lead with two outs on a dropped fly ball by Tiffin right fielder Julian Hernandez. Tiffin wasted no time responding as Ty Hatfield and Aidan Grabowski had RBI singles in the third inning and Nate Adelman drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game at three.
CSP scored three in their home half of the third inning off of Steven Sexton to regain their three-run lead, 6-3. The Golden Bears added one in the fourth and the Dragons cut the lead in half in the fifth as Hatfield scored on a passed ball and Adelman came around to score on a Luke Westerman RBI single.
The bottom of the fifth was back breaking for the Dragons as CSP erupted for six runs. The first three batters reached that resulted in a two-run double and with two outs with the bases loaded, Bennett McCollow reached on a failed fielder's choice. CSP clean-up hitter Noah Juliar stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam to make it 13-5 CSP.
The Dragons chipped away at the deficit and got back in it. Grabowski and Brayden Clark recorded RBI doubles in the sixth to make it 13-8 and TU plated three in the eighth all with two outs as Hilario DeLaPaz scored on a wild pitch and Griff Cady singled home Jack Clancy and Chavis Conceicao to make it 13-11.
Following the base hit by Cady, CSP went to Christian Lindow who retired Adam Deitschel to end the inning. Tiffin was unable to put together a ninth inning rally as Lindow retired Hatfield, Andrew Fairbrother, and Adelman to end the game.
Cady, Deitschel, Hatfield, and Grabowski each had two hits in the game and both Adelman and Clancy drew two walks.
Zach Johnson got the start pitching 2.0 innings and striking out four. He walked three and allowed three runs but all three were unearned. Steven Sexton (0-1) took the loss as he allowed three runs on three hits without recording an out. Nick Feasel pitched 2.1 innings and allowed five runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Mason Brunecz pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits. Patrick Dinnen pitched 2.0 scoreless innings and struck out one.
Up next for the Dragons is their spring break trip to Florida where they'll play 10 games that begins with a doubleheader against West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday, March 1
