The Tiffin University baseball team took care of business on Tuesday afternoon, sweeping the first place Ashland Eagles 7-1 and 11-8.
Game One
Weylin Frisbie was sent to the hill to tackle the best hitting ball club in the conference, and ran into trouble in the 2nd. The Eagles plated a run on two hits to lead 1-0. Tiffin countered in the bottom of the 3rd. John Heckman was hit by a pitch and Kurt Barbeau singled, putting runners on the corners. Devon Fisk tied the game with a fielder's choice, with Barbeau being retired 8-4. Fisk then stole second, and trotted home on Nick Hueneburg's single to center field to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead.
Tiffin added on in the 5th, and Nick Hueneburg reaped the RBI, cracking a double down the left field line to score Kurt Barbeau. Tiffin blew the doors off the game an inning later, crossing the plate four times on three hits and two Ashland errors. The big blow came from John Heckman, lining a single to center field and scoring a pair of runs.
With the Dragons ahead 7-1, Weylin Frisbie turned on cruise control, retiring eight consecutive batters before surrendering a single in the 7th. Frisbie weaved his way through a complete game, surrendering one run, scattering five hits, and didn't walk a batter.
At the plate, Nick Hueneburg finished 2 for 3 with two runs batted in and Devon Fisk was 1 for 3 with a run scored and two runs batted in, while John Heckman collected a pair of RBI's.
Game Two
Tiffin picked up right where they left off in game one, chasing the Ashland starting pitcher after recording only two outs. Garrett Vernau doubled to start the bottom of the 1st, and Hueneburg drew a one out walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Vernau scored on Alec McCurry's ground out to the second baseman. Hueneburg came home on Isaac Perry's double to right center field to make it 2-0. Barbeau walked, and Fernando Nieto delivered Perry home on a single to right field. John Heckman made it 5-0, singling up the middle, scoring Barbeau and Kyle Lento.
Ashland crossed the plate in the 2nd, scoring a run on three hits, and added another run in the top of the 3rd to trail 5-2. The Dragons, feeling the Eagles closing in, bashed ahead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Garrett Vernau singled home Nieto, and Kyle Lento teamed up with Vernau to pull off the double steal, with Lento swiping home to push TU ahead 7-2. Devon Fisk cracked another double, scoring Vernau to give the Dragons a six run cushion.
Ashland added a pair of runs in the 5th to close the gap once more, but the Dragons counter punched with another trey on the board. A double by Isaac Perry and single by McCurry scored run number nine for the Dragons, and with the bases loaded Vernau, choked up and protecting with two strikes, punched a single to right field to plate a pair making it 11-5.
The Eagles scored once in the 7th, and added two more in the 9th, but were finished off by Patrick Bellinger to preserve an 11-8 victory and sweep of Ashland.
On the mound, Luke Fraley, working on three days rest, pitched three innings, allowing two earned runs. Marc Deitsch tossed a couple innings allowing three runs, Tyler Nichols hurled 1 2/3 innings, and Bellinger closed the door with 2 1/3 innings pitched.
Offensively, Garrett Vernau banged out three hits, scored two runs, and drove in three. Isaac Perry also had a good game, collecting three hits and two RBI's, and Fernando Nieto finished 2 for 5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
The sweep moves the Dragons to 19-27 overall and 10-18 in GLIAC play.