CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Tiffin baseball won a high-scoring game one over Cedarville 19-11 on Friday afternoon, but fell to the Yellow Jackets 8-2 in the nightcap for the split.
With the win, the Dragons pick up their first-ever Great Midwest Athletic Conference victory, and are now 1-5 in the conference.
John Heckman had a great day at the plate, going 5-9 with two homers, four RBI, and four runs scored. The junior was one of four Dragons to record three RBI in the first game, joined by Zach Campbell (4-5, HR, 2 RS), Jack Dennis (2-4, HR, 2 RS, BB), and Kyle Vance (2-6, 2 RS).
Tiffin got on the board first in the opener, putting up two runs in the top of the second. Cedarville came back with four in the bottom of the inning, including a three-run homer, but the Dragons responded with five runs in the top of the third with Vance, Campbell, Dennis, and Brayden Callihan all picking up RBI.
TU made it 8-4 in the top of the fourth as Heckman drove in Campbell with an RBI double, but the Yellow Jackets answered with a five-spot in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. It did not last long, though, as Tiffin exploded for seven runs in the fifth to go up 15-8 and put the game away for good.
Callihan got the run started with an RBI double, and was knocked in two batters later on a Vance 2-RBI double. Campbell followed with a sac fly and Heckman singled Vance home to for the fourth and fifth runs of the frame, before Dennis launched a two-run blast over the fence in right.
The Dragons added four more runs, including back-to-back jacks from Campbell and Heckman in the seventh, before all was said and done, taking the eight-run victory.
Game two started as a pitcher's duel, with Heckman's second homer of the day and a Yellow Jacket RBI single the only runs on the board through four innings. Tyler Wehrle started the game for the Dragons, throwing those first four innings and giving up just the one run on four hits with five strikeouts.
TU reliever Michael Ross ran into trouble in the fifth and sixth frames, though, allowing seven runs (six earned) over the two innings.
Dennis recorded his fourth RBI of the day as the Dragons got one back in the sixth, but that would be all for the TU offense as they fell 8-2.
Tiffin and Cedarville will wrap up their four-game set tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.