Yellow Jackets come up empty in DH at Lawrence Tech

UTICA, Mich. - The Defiance Yellow Jackets were silenced on Sunday by a pair of strong pitching performances in 4-1 and 8-1 losses to the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils at Jimmy John's Field on Sunday.

The Blue Devils (8-8, 3-3 WHAC) got two complete-game efforts from their starting pitchers and combined on 19 strikeouts over 16 innings against Defiance. The Yellow Jackets (8-16, 1-5 WHAC) were held to five total hits and have now lost four games in a row.

Game 1: Lawrence Tech 4, Defiance 1
In a low-scoring opening game, the Yellow Jackets were plagued by a season-high four errors. The Blue Devils cracked the scoreboard on a two-out, RBI double by Zach Meier, but he came around and scored on the first error of the game on the play. Gregg held LTU in check until second error led to another run in the fourth. On the other end for Lawrence Tech, starting pitcher Zach Yeip stymied the DC offense and retired the first seven hitters until Tyler Dehan delivered a hit in the third. That remained the only Defiance hit until Anthony Silvera Jr. started the seventh with a double, and Connor Gephart ended the shutout with a two-out single to plate Silvera. Yeip finished with seven strikeouts and did not yield a walk.

Game 2: Lawrence Tech 8, Defiance 1
The second contest saw the Blue Devils jump out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning that they extended with four more in the late innings. Starting pitcher Ethan Hochendoner went the distance and struck out 12 Yellow Jackets. Defiance's lone run was unearned in the fourth and they were held to just two hits, starting with Jacob Hild in the fourth inning. LTU's Jack Burch did most of the damage for the home team with a first-inning grand slam plus a two-run double in the eighth.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Connor Gephart accounted for two of Defiance's five hits on the afternoon. He was also hit by a pitch in the second game.
• Gunner Gregg tossed four innings during the first game and surrendered one earned run and three total. He was relieved by Blake Bowman for two innings and allowed one run.
• Andy Yoder worked a season-high 6.1 innings and struck out five. He kept the Yellow Jackets within reach by tossing five shutout frames after the four-spot in the first.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets travel to Kent State-Tuscarawas for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

-JACKETS-