The sun was shining, birds were chirping and dragons were breathing fire. Everything you would need for a perfect day of baseball.
On March 15, Sinclair Community College faced Northwestern Ohio University Racers (JV) at Fifth Third Field–right in the heart of Downtown Dayton.
The optimal weather was a change-up from Saturday’s attempted games at Owens Community College, as two of the four games were rained out. Sinclair won the first two games 8-1 and 13-0, giving the Tartan Pride more cushion to what was already a commanding lead in conference.
Before the game started, former Sinclair and MLB pitcher Chris Spurling was honored by having his jersey retired by Sinclair. He also threw the first pitch of the game.
The Dayton Dragons Green Team was present, including Dragons mascots Heater and Gem, who provided live entertainment for the fans between innings by dancing, passing out T-shirts and asking the fans Sinclair trivia.
The game itself provided plenty of entertainment for Sinclair fans with the Tartan Pride stealing a victory in extra innings.
The game nearly fell into jeopardy as head coach Steve Dintaman chose to move his third basemen Matt Sullivan over to pitch.
Sullivan gave up a two-run homerun in the 8th inning to Northwestern Ohio that almost put a raincloud over Sinclair’s day.
“Our thing is, we only played two conference games this weekend,” Dintaman said. “And so, we have to play two more games at Owens this Tuesday. We had to be very selective with how we used pitchers.”
After Sinclair tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the 8th, Sullivan had his chance at redemption.
Sullivan, a Centerville High School graduate, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. He hit a low line drive to third base, too hard for the Racer defenders to handle.
The hit brought the winning run home, and brought his teammates charging and mobbing him in celebration.
“It felt really good,” Sullivan said via Facebook. “After Drew popped out, I knew that I had to come up big after losing the lead. I just wanted to get the run in any way possible.”
Sullivan earned Most Outstanding Player honors as he played the entire game getting the win as a pitcher and delivering the game-winning hit in extras.
After the game, Dintaman said that Sinclair might in fact play more games at Fifth Third in seasons to come due to how successful the game was.
“This could end up being a highlight game for us every year,” Dintaman said. “I haven’t been told we’re going to, but the feeling I get from President Johnson and everyone else is that the relationship is going to get stronger and stronger, and that’s a good thing.”
Attendance for the game was calculated at 915, according to Athletic Director Jack Giambrone.
The win brings Sinclair’s record to 31-11, during which they have reeled off 10 straight victories. Sinclair is ranked #11 in the Nation by the weekly National Junior College Athletic Association coaches’ poll.
- Wed. May 1st, 2024
