WARRIORS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER WITH DEFIANCE

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Warriors split games with the Defiance Yellow Jackets during their March 14 doubleheader, taking the second game 3-2 after a 1-0 loss in the first matchup. In the victory, the Warriors got big plays from Lucas Bateman and Brendan DeFlorio, who logged base hits and RBIs to give the Warriors a lead midway through. On the mound, Bryan Masterson gave RCU one of his career-best pitching performances, throwing ten strikeouts in the win with just one earned run. 

THE RUNDOWN

The lone run of the game came at the bottom of the first inning, when the Yellow Jackets scored on a groundout following a failed pickoff attempt by the Warriors. Both teams were cold at bat throughout the game, with only one hit each in the contest. RCU's lone hit came in the fifth inning, when Dakota Shafer singled through the right side. Donovan Galovich was hit by a pitch on the next at-bat, but RCU left two on base after a third-out pop-up to shortstop.

Pitcher Ryan Polega kept the Warriors within one run throughout the contest, pitching six strikeouts, including a critical one on the final out in the bottom of the sixth. However, the Warriors couldn't deliver offensively, falling in seven innings after two flyouts in the final inning. 

RCU flipped a switch in the second game, immediately starting with a Bateman single down the right field line to match the hit total from the first game. However, runs didn't come the Warriors' way at first, with great fielding play by the Yellow Jackets. The Warriors matched the efforts when defending the field, with Masterson striking out five batters in three innings. In the third, Masterson, Shafer, and Bateman collaborated to pick off a runner on first and end Defiance's third inning. 

The defensive plays were rewarded in the fourth inning, with RCU loading up the bases after getting two walks and an error. DeFlorio singled to center field for RCU's first run of the day and the lead. Two more strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth by Masterson helped set up another RBI for the Warriors, with Bateman singling to center for a Beau Falkenhagen run. DeFlorio kept up the pressure, hitting another RBI single to right field in the sixth to push the lead to 3-0. The Yellow Jackets would add a run on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to two coming out of the sixth. 

The Yellow Jackets began to threaten RCU's lead in the eighth, scoring on a double to left field for an RBI. The tying run was looming, with a Defiance baserunner being advanced to third due to obstruction. However, Masterson, who struck out two batters to begin the inning, delivered his finest strikeout of the day, taking the pressure off the Warriors. In the ninth, reliever Matthew Redmond sealed the deal on the RCU win, striking out two batters with a tying run on third. For the third out, Falkenhagen took a ground ball and beat the runner to second base to give the Warriors a conference win. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will take on Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne on Monday, March 17. 

Hussein Murray - RCU Athletic Communications