After dropping game three of the series, Tiffin University baseball (11-9, 3-1 G-MAC) bounced back to win a slugfest in game four, 20-16, to take the series against the Panthers 3-1.
Game 1 (L, 7-5)
It was all Panthers in this one as they plated two in the first and four in the second to lead 6-0. A leadoff single in the first and two RBI doubles resulted in their runs in the first. Another leadoff hit in the second led to four runs. All six hits in the inning were singles.
The Dragons had runners on base and runners in scoring position in the first two innings but weren't able to push any runs across. ODU added a solo home run in the fourth to lead 7-0.
Tiffin was finally able to get to ODU starter in the fifth and plated five runs to get back into it. Hilario DeLaPaz popped out to lead off the inning and the rally was then jumpstarted following Luke Westerman getting hit by a pitch and Adam Deitschel drawing a walk. Ty Hatfield followed with an RBI double and Andrew Fairbrother then stepped to the plate and launched a three-run home run to left field. With two outs, Aidan Grabowski was hit by a pitch to load the bases and DeLaPaz drew a walk scoring Brayden Clark.
Trailing 7-5, the Tiffin pitchers put up zeroes the final two innings to give the offense a chance. In the sixth, Deitschel led off with a walk but was stranded at first following three straight strikeouts. In the seventh, pinch hitter Julian Hernandez and DeLapaz walked with two outs, but pinch hitter Johnny Baileys struck out to end the game.
Brett Madison (L, 0-1) started and took the loss, pitching 1.2 innings and was tagged for nine runs and six hits. He struck out one but did not walk a batter. Mason Brunecz pitched 3.1 innings and allowed one run on hit with one walk and three strikeouts. Brandon Swope pitched 2.0 scoreless innings and struck out one.
Fairbrother was the only hitter to record a multi-hit game with two and had three RBI with all of them coming via the home run. Deitschel, Clark, and DeLaPaz drew two walks each.
Game 2 (W, 20-16)
The second game of the doubleheader was just pure chaos from beginning to end. The game featured seven multi-run innings and the 20 runs scored by the Dragons in this one was the most runs scored in a game since April 15, 2022 against Kentucky Wesleyan.
The chaos started in the second innings when both teams committed two errors each which led to two runs for the Panthers and three for the Dragons. The Panthers got a big two-out, two-run triple for their runs and Tiffin scored two runs on the same play on two separate errors and Grabowski then came around to score on a sacrifice bunt by Luke Westerman.
Tiffin looked to blow it open in the third scoring seven to take a 10-3 lead. Hatfield led off with a single and then a walk and hit batter loaded the bases with no outs. With the bases loaded, Hernandez and Clark drew walks and Griff Cady was hit by a pitch to make it 6-2. Later in the inning, DeLaPaz and Hatfield added RBI singles and Deitschel had a two-run single. Overall, Tiffin sent 12 batters to the plate.
Tiffin looked to blow it open some more in the fifth as Hatfield had an RBI single and Fairbrother crushed a two-run home run to make it 13-4 but the Panthers came storming back in the sixth inning with a seven-run inning of their own. ODU's inning featured seven runs on three hits with one TU error. Clark had the fielding error with two outs which led to four unearned runs as ODU suddenly cut the lead to 13-11. The Panthers sent 11 to the plate in the inning.
With a slugfest in the making, the Dragons made it even more so as they put together their second seventh run inning of the game in the seventh. Hatfield reached on an error to start the inning and then came around to score on another error. Following back-to-back base hits, Hernandez hit a three-run home run down the left field line, the first career home run for the freshman and Grabowski followed with a home run to left as the two went back-to-back. Hatfield added a two-out, two run double to make it 20-11 and Cady stepped to the plate with a chance to put the run rule into play but grounded out to prolong the game.
The Panthers again responded to make it interesting as they plated five in the eighth. In the ninth, Johnathan Ray pitched a scoreless inning to seal the win and the series victory for the Dragons.
TU used five pitchers in the game and Ray was the only one to record a scoreless appearnace. Nick Feasel (W, 2-0) picked up the win throwing 2.0 innings and allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Keegan Phillips started and went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Hatfield went 4-for-6 with 4 RBI and scored three runs. Hernandez was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and also scored three runs. DeLaPaz went 3-for-4 and scored two runs.
