Dingee Tosses No Hitter at Ancilla

Saginaw Twp - It would be understandable if the Pioneers baseball team was a bit on edge on Tuesday.  Needing a sweep of visiting Ancilla College to qualify for the post-season, Delta couldn't afford a let down else the entire season would be lost.  Right-handed ace pitcher Austin Dingee all but assured that wouldn't happen in game one as the sophomore threw a no-hitter at the Chargers and the offense took it from there as DC won, 10-0.

Game two would start out in much the same fashion as sophomore lefty-ace pitcher Matt Sahr threw four consecutive innings of no-hit baseball as Delta built a 13-0 lead.  But Ancilla would break up the no-hit bid and the shutout by plating five runs in the fifth before the Pioneers would score two more in the sixth to get the mercy win, 15-5.

The wins propel Delta into the Region XII tournament with a 16-10 final conference record while upping their overall record to 29-20.  Just three weeks ago, it didn't look likely they would be playing for anything other than pride this season.

"We are going to take a couple days off and regroup mentally," said fifth year head coach Danny Smith.  "We were backed into a corner and could either fight or fold.  I'm glad we decided to fight."

On April 23rd, Delta was 6-8 in conference play knowing that they had an uphill climb.  Since then, they won 10 of the final 12 MCCAA games including key victories over Grand Rapids and Kellogg, two perrenial powers in the league.

"It's a combination of believing in ourselves coupled with a laser focus," said Smith.  "We've shown we can play with anyone so bring on the post-season."

Dingee improved his record to 6-1 with the victory.  Offensively, Delta was led by Watson Moore with two hits and three RBI while Derrek Clyde drew three walks, scored three runs and had an RBI double.

Matt Sahr, meanwhile, evened his record on the year to 3-3 with the game two win.  Clyde once again had a big day with the bat smacking two triples while scoring two runs.  Jordan Jachens continued his torrent hitting with two singles and a double while Colin Meacham laced a single and a triple and Ty Jones added two singles and a double.

The Pioneers will celebrate sophomore day on Saturday as they host the Spirits of St. Louis in their home finale.  Game time will be 1pm.