COLUMBUS, Ohio – Great Midwest play continues this weekend for Ohio Dominican baseball with a four-game set against Malone.
THE FUNDAMENTAL
- The Ohio Dominican and Malone will participate in a four-game series on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10.
- Both dates have a scheduled 13.00 start.
- The series will follow the traditional G-MAC schedule of 9-7-7-9 inning games.
- All four games are scheduled to be played at Canal Park in Akron, Ohio, home of Akron RubberDucks, Double-A-affiliated Cleveland Indians.
- More information about tickets is available here.
LAST TIME
- The Panthers come from our first home series this spring and take three of four games against Cedarville last weekend.
- As a result, ODU improved to 13-5 overall and 5-5 in the Great Midwest.
- The Five Panthers posted a league average of over .350 against the Yellow Jackets, when ODU hit .339 as a team.
- Sophomore Burning Hunt (Ashland, Ohio) ledet, batting. 615 (8-13) with five goals scored.
- Sophomore Alex Brill (Amherst, Ohio) beat two home runs and graduate senior Jace Komminsk (Westerville, Ohio) added a long ball, with all three bombs that came in the final victory 17-14 series.
- On the mound, first-year student Scott wakes up (Hinckley, Ohio) opened the series with a one-hit shutout win, while the second year Grayson Hamilton (Lebanon, Ohio) and educated senior Leire davies (Massillon, Ohio) picked victories too.
ROUSE NAMED G-MAC PITCHER OF THE UKE
- Scott wakes up threw his second full game of the season and his first nine-inning game in a 6-0 win over Cedarville last weekend.
- Only two runners-up reached Rouse, a single in the third and a trip in the top of the ninth.
- Rouse knocked out a season-high eight hits in the show and had a stretch of 18 consecutive retired hits.
- During the season, Rouse leads ODU with 33.1 rounds beaten.
- The newcomer ranks among the top five at the conference with a 2.70 ERA and has team-high 32 strikes.
- Rouse enters the Malone series with a 3-1 record.
EXPLOSIVE POWER
- ODU is among the top teams in several offensive statistical categories in G-MAC this season.
- The Panthers beat .296 as a team and the squad’s .434 OBP leads the conference and is in the top 20 in Division II.
- ODU’s 8.1 races per game are only number two for Kentucky Wesleyan in the G-MAC, while Black & Gold also ranks among the top five at the conference in doubles, triples and home races.
- The Panthers’ success on offense can also be attributed to the base running effort, where they have a G-MAC high of 66 stolen bases.
- ODU has the second most steals in NCAA Division II and ranks third in the country in stolen bases per game, 3.67.
- Four panthers have double-digit steals, led by juniors Thomas Staab (Bellville, Ohio), who is 20-for-23 in swipes, and ties him to the national lead in Division II.
LEADER ON THE PLATE
- Sophomore David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio) has been the most consistent bat for ODU this spring, leading the team with an average of .400.
- Silva has eight multi-hit matches this season, and will participate this weekend in a five-hit stretch.
- The player has run in 19 races and scored 16 times, while adding seven hits outside the base (6 2B, 1 HR).
- Silva is number two at the conference with a .544 OBP.
- Jace Komminsk and Thomas Staab beats .340 and .339, respectively.
- Komminsk has shown power with seven doubles and three homers, and runs in a team-high 22 races.
- To go along with his stolen base total, Staab is one of three Panther players with 20 plus points. The leadoff hitter also has a couple of triples this spring.
HAMILTON CONTINUES STRONG START
- Grayson Hamilton joins Rouse with a team-best 3-1 record this spring.
- Fresh from a solidly shortened first-year campaign in 2020, Hamilton leads ODU and G-MAC with a 1.57 ERA.
- Hamilton threw five innings last weekend against Cedarville, hitting two hits and no runs while hitting four.
ABOUT MALONE
- Malone has started 9-14 in 2021, including a 4-12 conference post.
- The Pioneers play at their third home which comes this spring this weekend and are 1-7 when they host.
- Malone comes from a four-game series at Tiffin last weekend, and goes 1-3.
- Longtime NAIA rivals and now G-MAC rivals, ODU and Malone, have met 120 times, with the Pioneers leading the all-time series 68-52.
- Since joining NCAA Division II in 2010-11, ODU is 9-13 against Malone.
- The last meeting came in the G-MAC tournament in 2019, a 9-5 victory for the Panthers.
- ODU dates back to the 2018 season, and has won three of the last four matches played against Malone.
Consult: Tyler nar
jestert@ohiodominican.edu