Jackets take 1 of 4 in season-opening series at Truett McConnell
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
|
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4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | X | 16 | 14 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
|
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0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | X | 11 | 7 | 0 |
CLEVELAND, Ga. - The Defiance Yellow Jackets opened the 2026 season with a 1-3 start at Truett McConnell on Friday and Saturday at the TMU Baseball Complex.
On Friday, the Bears (4-3) claimed both games with a decisive 16-4 opener and a walk-off 5-4 decision in the second game. On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets staved off a comeback in Game 1 for their first win of the season, 10-8, but TMU blanked DC in Game 2, 11-0.
Game 1 - Truett McConnell 16, Defiance 4
The Bears built a 9-0 lead through the first 4 innings before DC put together a 3-run rally in the fifth. Logan Rosenberger drove in Dylan Barger for Defiance's first run of the season during that fifth frame. Defiance starting pitcher Blake Bowman labored through 19 hitters, surrendering 5 walks and 5 hits before giving way to the bullpen in the third inning. TMU scored at least once in all 6 turns they had at the plate.
Game 2 - Truett McConnell 5, Defiance 4
Freshman hurlers Brez Zipfel and Dillon Johnson pitched Defiance into a good position in the second game on Friday but the Bears walked off DC in the bottom of the seventh to sweep the day. Each side exchanged runs in the first and TMU took a 2-1 lead with a groundout in the second frame. The Yellow Jackets erupted for 3 runs to take the lead in the fourth, starting with RBI knocks from Jack Brubaker-Flood and Kolbe VanderLeest, followed by a two-out single by Caleb Wurster. The Bears got 2 runs back off Zipfel in the home half of the inning before giving way to Johnson, who blanked the Bears in the fifth and sixth frames. In the seventh, the lead-off runner for TMU reached on an error and scored the winning run on a second error with two outs.
Game 3 - Defiance 10, Truett McConnell 8
The Yellow Jackets feasted with two crooked innings to claim their first win of the campaign to start Saturday's action. Elisa Marquez brought home Bradyn Shaw in the second frame on an RBI groundout, then Wurster and Silvera delivered RBI knocks to extend the lead to 4-0. Wurster slugged a solo home run with two outs in the fourth, and a double steal attempt brought in Connor Gephart in the fifth to get back 2 runs allowed by Shaw over the second and third innings. Shaw carried the Jackets into the sixth inning on the hill after 2 more TMU runs scored, but he was in the middle of the 4-run top of the seventh that was crucial to securing the win. Shaw bounced into a bases-loaded error that brought in a run that followed by Lane Wolfe being hit by a pitch to plate another. After Dominic Jarjis worked a bases-loaded walk, Marquez got the ball in play to bring in Shaw from third after a misplay by the Bears' first basemen. TMU scored four times in the bottom of the inning without using any outs before Andy Yoder was called upon to close out the win, retiring all 3 hitters he faced.
Game 4 - Truett McConnell 11, Defiance 0
Truett McConnell handed Defiance its first shutout of the year in the finale, using big innings of 4 runs in the third and a 6-run sixth to put the game out of reach. Defiance was limited to just 5 hits in the contest while surrendering 6 walks on the mound. TMU starter Ryan Coughanour tossed 6 inninngs fanned 7 Yellow Jackets. Colin Danek relieved starter Logan Rosenberger with no outs in the third and allowed one inherited runner to score before pitching a scoreless fourth. Joseph O'Neil surrendered one unearned run for DC with a pair of strikeouts in his outing, marking his first game action on the mound since his freshman season due to arm injuries the last two years.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Defiance picked up a win in the opening series for the first time since 2022.
- The Yellow Jackets hit .245 for the weekend with 5 extra-base hits and produced 4.5 runs per game.
- The pitching staff surrendered 40 runs, walked 20 and struck out 11 in 25.2 innings of work.
- Caleb Wurster and Anthony Silvera Jr. led the team with 5 hits apiece. Silvera worked his way on base in all 4 games while Wurster posted a team-high 4 RBIs and the lone homer of the trip.
- Connor Gephart collected a team-high 2 doubles and reached base in 3 of 4 games on 3 hits and 2 walks.
- Bradyn Shaw also reached base in all 4 contests, earning 1 hit in the last 3 games of the series. Shaw also swiped 2 bases for the weekend. On the mound, Shaw's 5.2 innings in the third game were a team high while earning the winning decision.
- As a whole, Defiance was able to get 14 different pitchers on the mound to get in their first work of the year while 20 hitters had at least 1 plate appearance.
- Two DC pitchers finished scoreless outings of at least 1 full inning: Andy Yoder (1 IP in Game 3) and Colin Danek (2 IP in Game 4).
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets are back on the road next weekend for a four-game series against the Lancers from Grace College. The two teams will meet in Hoover, Ala. with doubleheaders next Friday and Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. each day.
-JACKETS-