(CANTON, Mo., April 27)—The McKendree University baseball team took one of two games in a non-conference doubleheader Sunday at Culver-Stockton College. The Bearcats were defeated 5-4 in eight innings in the opener before taking game two by a score of 9-3.

McKendree moves to 28-20 on the season with the split. The Bearcats will close out their 2008 regular-season scheduled Monday with an American Midwest Conference doubleheader at Hannibal-LaGrange College. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. McKendree has already earned the No. 2 seed in the AMC Tournament and will face No. 3 William Woods University Wednesday at 3 p.m. on the campus of Missouri Baptist University.

Junior first baseman Calvin O'Rear (DuBois, Ill./Nashville) (DuBois, Ill./Nashville) continued to add to his memorable season by reaching another milestone on Sunday. O'Rear stole a base in game one to push his season total to 20. O'Rear becomes just the second player in program history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season. Brian Dinkelman achieved the feat in 2005.

In game one, Culver-Stockton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning before McKendree chipped away and tied the contest with single runs in the second and third innings. In the second, senior outfielder Brandon Melliere (Red Bud, Ill./Red Bud) (Red Bud, Ill./Red Bud) reached on a one-out single. Two batters later, freshman outfielder Tyler Muren (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) brought Melliere home with an RBI single.

The Bearcats loaded the bases in the third inning without hitting the ball out of the infield. Junior infielder Dusty Schallenberg (New Douglas, Ill./Highland) (New Douglas, Ill./Highland) walked to lead off the inning. Sophomore infielder Adam Davinroy (Shiloh, Ill./Althoff Catholic) (Shiloh, Ill./Althoff Catholic) and senior infielder Todd Harpstrite (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) produced back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases, and O'Rear lifted a sacrifice fly to score Schallenberg to even the contest at 2-2.

Culver-Stockton regained a 4-2 lead with two runs in the fifth inning. McKendree pulled to within 4-3 in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Davinroy. The Bearcats forced extra innings by plating the tying run in the top of the seventh inning. O'Rear led off with a walk and promptly stole second base. He later scored on a wild pitch to knot the score at 4-4.

The host Wildcats loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning and picked up the win when Kevin Steinhardt delivered the game-winning RBI single.

Senior left-hander Tyler Schwierjohn (Carlyle, Ill./Carlyle) (Carlyle, Ill./Carlyle) pitched the first six innings for McKendree. He allowed two earned runs and six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Sophomore Mark Chapman (Highland, Ill./Highland) (Highland, Ill./Highland) tossed the final 1 1/3 innings and was nicked for the loss.

McKendree took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two on an RBI single by Melliere. Culver-Stockton answered with three runs in the bottom of the first to pull out to a 3-1 lead. The Bearcats then returned the favor with three runs in the third inning to take the lead for good at 4-3. Sophomore outfielder Ryan Meyer (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) led off with a double. Melliere was later hit by a pitch ahead of a two-run double by senior outfielder Anthony Clervi (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge). Senior first baseman Jon Keener (Murphysboro, Ill./Murphysboro) capped the scoring in the frame with an RBI single.

In the fourth inning, O'Rear chipped in with an RBI double and later scored on an error to help the Bearcats build a 6-3 advantage. Melliere added a two-run single that highlighted a three-run sixth inning that capped the scoring for the afternoon.

Melliere finished with two hits and three RBI, while O'Rear scored three times. Senior infielder Chris Bellm (Highland, Ill./Highland) (Highland, Ill./Highland) also had two hits for the Bearcats.

Freshman right-hander Dakota Schutt (Waterloo, IL/Gibault) (Waterloo, Ill./Gibault) tossed a five-hitter to pick up the complete-game victory. Schutt did not walk a batter and fanned five to push his season record to 4-3.

-McK-