(LEBANON, Ill., April 6)—The McKendree University baseball team built a 9-1 lead after two innings of play and cruised to a 15-5 non-conference victory Tuesday at Lindenwood University.
The Bearcats scored two runs in the first inning and added seven more in the second on the way to their second victory over the Lions in two meetings this season. McKendree is now 17-19 overall and will play host to Park University in a key four-game American Midwest Conference series at Hypes Field on Friday and Saturday. The Friday twinbill is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
Senior first baseman Dan Corwin (St. Louis, MO/DeSmet) (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet) paced a 12-hit attack for McKendree with three hits, including a pair of doubles, along with three RBI. Senior catcher Kyle Moll (Mascoutah, IL/Mascoutah) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah), junior outfielder Brandyn Snider (Fielden, IL/Jersey Community) (Fieldon, Ill./Jersey Community) and senior catcher Brad Dunnigan (Smithton, IL/Freeburg) (Smithton, Ill./Freeburg) each added two hits in the victory for the Bearcats.
Junior right-hander Josh Rathmann (Germantown, IL/Breese Central) (Germantown, Ill./Breese Central) allowed five hits and just one earned run over six innings to collect his third victory of the season. Rathmann walked one and struck out three in the contest.
In the first inning, McKendree jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from Moll followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Corwin. Lindenwood (23-16) cut the deficit to 2-1 with a run in the bottom half of the first.
McKendree sent 13 batters to the plate in the second inning on its way to a seven-run outburst and a 9-1 advantage. The Bearcats loaded the bases with one out when senior outfielder Tyler Muren (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) doubled down the left-field line to bring home the first two runs of the frame. Two batters later, Corwin delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1.
After loading the bases for a second time in the inning, McKendree added to its lead as Snider produced an RBI single to center field. An error by the Lions put another run on the scoreboard for McKendree before senior infielders Andy Kuehn (Mascoutah, IL/Mascoutah) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) and Daniel Solis (Chicago, IL/De La Salle) (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) drew bases-loaded walks to force home the final two runs of the inning for the Bearcats.
McKendree's lead grew to 10-1 in the fifth inning when freshman outfielder Tony Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) (Millstadt, Ill./Belleville West) led off with a single and Moll brought Kossina around with an RBI double. The Bearcats then tacked on four more runs in the sixth inning to build a 14-1 advantage. Dunnigan started the scoring with an RBI triple. After a walk to Kuehn, Solis brought Dunnigan home with a run-scoring single. An RBI groundout by Kossina and a sacrifice fly by Corwin rounded out the scoring in the frame for the Bearcats.
After Lindenwood scored four runs in the seventh inning to pull within 14-5, McKendree closed out the contest with a run in the top of the eighth inning. Muren struck out to lead off the inning but reached first on a wild pitch. Muren moved to second base on a wild pitch and then stole third base. Then, with two outs, Muren scored on another passed ball.
