Late home run boosts Bishops past Jackets in midweek slugfest

Final: Ohio Wesleyan 14, Defiance 12
Box Score: Click here

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets fell on a ninth-inning, two-run home run as Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops took a 14-12 victory in Wednesday's non-conference bout that featured a combined 36 hits on a warm, breezy afternoon at Rutter Field.

The Bishops' (13-10) DJ Neff delivered the clutch blast well over the left-center fence to push his RBI total for the day to five. OWU's late-inning heroics spoiled a comeback by the Yellow Jackets (3-19) in which DC overcame a 6-0 deficit and led 10-8 after six innings. The loss is also the 11th in a row for Defiance.

Josh Vischer (Genoa, Ohio/Genoa) and Trent Murdock (Liberty Center, Ohio/Liberty Center) were right in the thick of the comeback for Defiance and accounted for nine of the team's 18 hits. Vischer led all hitters by going 5-for-6, becoming just the 10th player in DC baseball history to record a five-hit game. Murdock notched a new career best with five RBIs and doubled twice while going 4-for-5 in the contest.

Murdock put Defiance on the board in the third to spark a five-run inning by doubling home a pair. In the sixth, Vischer delivered his lone RBI with a single to the opposite field to bring the Jackets within one run. With the bases loaded two batters later, Murdock gave Defiance the lead with his second double of the game to plate a pair.

After Ohio Wesleyan responded to their second four-run inning of the day in the top of the seventh, both teams traded zeroes until Murdock plated Vischer again. Down 12-10, Murdock and Hunter Bostater (Ney, Ohio/Fairview) connected on back-to-back RBI singles to pull even with the Bishops to start the ninth.

All told, the final four innings featured three lead changes and one tie while each team recorded two crooked innings of four runs or more.

On the pitching side, Johnny Hammerstein was the only Defiance hurler to not allow a run as he fired 1.1 two-hit frames to get the Jackets out of the four-run seven before handing off to Sam Thombs (Loss, 0-6) for the ninth. Ohio Wesleyan's last two relievers, Jason Manos (Win, 2-2) and Mikey Olivieri (Save, 1) each recorded scoreless outings to record the final six outs of the contest on the way to the win, which included Manos stranding the bases loaded in the eighth inning after inheriting three runners from Andy Anthony.

Aside from big performances by Vischer and Murdock, Defiance receive multi-hit games from Bostater and Alex Morr (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) while Tyler Dehan (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry) and Ethan Jenkins (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) each reached base three times with a hit and two walks.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Friday to begin a three-game Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series at Anderson. First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.

-JACKETS-