Tiffin University baseball (12-12, 4-4 G-MAC) had a tough weekend series at home against Kentucky Wesleyan, losing the series by dropping three of the four games. Tiffin dropped game three 6-0 and game four 6-5. In the two losses, Tiffin left a total of 17 runners on base.
The day started positively for the Dragons as the two teams finished game two this morning. In the top of the 11th, Trent Hedges came on to pitch and retired all three batters he faced including two strike outs. In the bottom of the 11th, Hilario DeLaPaz delivered the game-winning single scoring Aidan Grabowski.
In game three, both starting pitchers went toe-to-toe with both putting up zeroes through the first five innings. The Panthers broke through for six runs in the sixth as they had six on five hits and took advantage of two Tiffin errors. The Dragons got two base runners on in both the sixth and seventh innings but weren't able to get on the scoreboard.
The Dragons had only four hits in the game. Cal Brazier had three of them and Luke Westerman had the other.
Keegan Phillips (L, 0-2) started and took the loss, pitching 5.1 innings allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Nick Feasel pitched 0.1 innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks. Steven Sexton pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.
Game four started positively for Tiffin as Cal Brazier launched a solo home run to the opposite field to give TU a 1-0 lead in the first. KWC answered with a run in the second to tie it and then added two in both the third and fourth innings to lead 5-1.
Tiffin got two more solo home runs, another from Brazier and one from Cadence Varner. It was the freshman's first career home run as the Dragons trailed 6-3 through seven. With one out in the seventh and the bases loaded, Brazier smoked a ball to KWC's third baseman and he made a great play, knocking down the ball which resulted in an inning ending double play.
Tiffin had another great scoring chance in the eighth but couldn't push any runs across. Brayden Clark was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Griff Cady followed with a single and Andrew Fairbrother walked to load the bases with no outs. Following a pitching change, all three runners were stranded as the ball was never put in play resulting in strikeouts by Varner, Westerman, and Dylan Ruhe.
In the ninth, Julian Hernandez led off with a single and Ty Hatfield walked bringing the tying run to the plate. Following a wild pitch, Clark hit a two-run single to make it 6-5 with one out. With two outs, Fairbrother hit a ball to deep left center field that KWC's left fielder tracked down as he narrowly missed a walk off two-run home run by inches.
Hernandez went 3-for-4 with a walk and both Brazier and Cady went 2-for-5.
Mason Brunecz (L, 0-1) started and took the loss pitching 3.0 innings allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout. Brett Madison pitched 4.0 innings with four strikeouts and allowed one run on four hits with one walk. Brandon Swope pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
