Defiance beat one of the top pitchers in Ohio but later suffered its first loss of the season in splitting two games on Saturday at Booster Field.
The Bulldogs knocked out Bowling Green pitcher Daniel McKinney in the second inning en route to an 11-1 win in the opener but lost to Bryan 5-2 to drop to 8-1 on the season. BG was a 7-6 winner over Bryan in the middle game of the day.
An eight-run second inning sparked DHS in the opener, bringing a quick exit for the BG right-hander head to the University of Michigan.
"We took advantage of a high sky," Defiance coach Tom Held said. "There were some tough fly balls for their outfielders and the gates opened and we got a big lead."
Anthony Kidston and Shea Murray each had two singles for the Bulldogs while Nic Vittorio added a double.
Tyler Batt went the distance to pick up the win, allowing two hits and four walks with three strikeouts. The run was unearned.
"Tyler gave us a solid five innings," Held noted. "He's a pitcher that has good command and throws a lot of strikes. He really didn't have great command but was good enough. He kept BG off-balance with his changeup and had a very good outing."
With Defiance up 2-1 against Bryan, the Bears pushed across two runs in the fifth and added two more in the seventh for the victory.
Derek Hug had a triple and double to lead Bryan at the plate while Joe Borland hit a single and double.
"Bryan got some big hits when they need them and made defensive plays when the needed them and it was the opposite for us," Held said. "We didn't get the big hit or make the big plays when we needed to."
Blake Kuszmaul scattered six DHS hits with four walk and one strikeout to gain the victory for Bryan.
"He really competed out on the hill," Held said of the junior right-hander. "He went after our hitters and they made plays behind him.
"Obviously the whole key to hitting is when you get hits. We were fortunate through the first eight games that a lot of teams gave us runs and we were able to capitalize with a big inning. Against Bryan we put 20 of 21 (outs) in play but they made plays. Bryan played well and deserved to win on that day."
Joe Keween, Joe Gentile and Rob Zeigler each had a double for Defiance, which left eight on base.
Linescores
Bowling Green 010 00 - 1 2 2
Defiance 080 3x - 11 9 2
Winning pitcher: Tyler Batt (5 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts, 4 walks).
Losing pitcher: Daniel McKinney (11/3 innings, 8 runs, 5 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk). Others: Dill, Rodesky.
Leading hitters: (BG, 2 hits). (Defiance, 9 hits) - Anthony Kidston 2 singles; Shea Murray 2 singles; Nic Vittorio double.
Bryan 100 140 0 - 6 8 2
Bowling Green 100 600 0 - 7 9 2
Records: BG 6-2.
Winning pitcher: Mayberry (4 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 6 strikeouts, 3 walks). Others: Rynkowski, Fisher.
Losing pitcher: Kelby Fruth (31/3 innings, 6 runs, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 4 walks). Other: Austin Martin.
Leading hitters: (Bryan, 8 hits). (BG, 9 hits) - Herringshaw single, double; Mayberry 2 singles; McKinney 2 singles.
Bryan 100 020 2 - 5 6 1
Defiance 110 000 0 - 2 6 1
Records: Bryan 5-1, Defiance 8-1.
Winning pitcher: Blaker Kuszmaul (7 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 strikeout, 4 walks).
Losing pitcher: Robert Zeigler (6 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks). Other: Weston Rivers.
Leading hitters: (Bryan, 6 hits) - Derek Hug double, triple; Joe Borland single, double. (Maumee, 6 hits) - Joe Keween double; Joe Gentile double.