Baseball Sweeps Findlay for Senior Day Celebration

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Dominican baseball team earned a pair of hard fought, one-run wins against Findlay to honor its Senior Class on Sunday afternoon in Panther Valley.

ODU rallied from a four-run deficit to win 9-8 in 12 innings during the series opener. Senior Brendan Hofacre (Chardon, Ohio) then tossed a complete game in the second half of the twinbill, a game the Panthers won 6-4. 

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

ODU recognized five seniors prior to Sunday’s doubleheader, including Hofacre, Jake Daniel (Troy, Ohio), Johnathon Novinec (Gahanna, Ohio), Thomas Staab (Bellville, Ohio) and Zac Wilson (Hamilton, Ohio). 

GAME ONE

Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) stole third base on a walk by David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio), and after an errant throw, scored to tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning. Brill then drove in a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, cut ODU’s deficit at the time to two runs, 4-2. 

Five of the firts six Oiler batters in the top of the seventh reached safely, as Findlay added two runs to its lead, giving them a 6-2 advantage. After not scoring in the seventh, ODU took advantage of a bullpen issue by the Oilers in the eighth, which resulted in five runs on four hits, as well as a 7-6 lead. Jack Mathey (Copley, Ohio) drove in a pair with a base hit and later scored on a wild pitch to highlight the rally for ODU. 

Findlay took advantage of three walks and a hit batter, as well as base hit to tack on two runs to its total in the top of the ninth. The Oilers led 8-7 as ODU batted in the ninth. Brill though, led off with a triple to right center and later scored on a two-out single from Silva to tie the game at 8-all and send it to extras. 

Max Whitesell (Dayton, Ohio) pitched three innings in relief en route to his second win of the season. The freshman did not allow a hit, walked two, and struck out four over the final three innings. 

It was not until the bottom of the 12th inning that the Panthers could prevail. With a pair of runners on and two outs, Gianni Passarelli (Delaware, Ohio) had a pinch hit single up the middle, which scored Michael McFadden (Brunswick, Ohio) for the game-winning run. 

Ohio Dominican outhit Findlay 17-9 in the contest. Marshall, Silva and Brill each collected three hits, with the latter falling a home run shy of the cycle. 

GAME TWO

Hofacre worked around eight hits and four walks to concede four runs in the night cap. ODU again outhit the Oilers, this time 10-8, behind another three-hit performance from Brill. 

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Brill started an offensive rally with a one-out single. He then scored on the next at-bat from Daniel, who lined a double to right center. The third consecutive hit came from Michael Knapp (Elyria, Ohio), who homered to left field. The Panthers would score four runs in the inning. 

Brill then drove in runs with base hits in fourth and sixth innings, giving the Panthers a 6-4 edge heading into the seventh and final frame. En route to 114 total pitches, Hofacre retired the Oilers in order in the seventh to secure the win. 

UP NEXT

Ohio Dominican and Findlay will conclude their 2022 seasons with another doubleheader on Monday, May 9. First pitch is scheduled for noon in Panther Valley.

Contact: Tyler Jester

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