BOX SCORE

(LEBANON, Ill., March 28)—The McKendree University baseball team rode the right arm of freshman Rich Dimock (Troy, IL/Triad) to a 2-1 victory Wednesday at home against Maryville University.
 
Dimock (Troy, Ill./Triad) allowed just five hits over seven shutout innings of work to earn his first collegiate victory. Dimock then watched as the Bearcat bullpen worked out of jams in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve the win. Senior Kraig Interial (Plainfield, IL/Meridian) (Plainfield, Ill./Meridian) induced a game-ending double-play grounder to notch his third save of the year.
 
Senior Brandon Gargus (Manchester, MO/Parkway South) (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South) broke up a scoreless duel with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning that proved to be the game-winning hit.
 
McKendree has won its last four games to improve to 8-21 on the year. The Bearcats will play host to Mid-Continent University for a three-game weekend series, beginning with a single game Friday at 2 p.m.
 
The teams traded zeroes across the scoreboard for the first six innings at Hypes Field. In the seventh, senior outfielder Brandon Snider (Fielden, Ill./Jersey Community) led off with a single. Two batters later, sophomore outfielder Tony Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) (Millstadt, Ill./Belleville West) reached on a hit-and-run single through the right side, moving Snider to third base. Kossina then stole second base, and senior infielder Ronnie Calvird (Farmington, MO/Park Hills Central) (Farmington, Mo./Park Hills Central) walked to load the bases.
 
Two batters later, Gargus drove a pitch into center field for a single, plating Snider and Kossina with the first runs of the contest to give McKendree a 2-0 lead.
 
Maryville (7-11) loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth. Junior righty Patrick Thole entered the game to face the Saints' Nick Little. He drove a sharp one-hopper to freshman first baseman Jeffrey Tolliver (Salem, Ill./Salem), who grabbed the ball with a backhand stab and started a 3-6-3 double play to end the frame.
 
The Saints scored a run off Interial in the top of the ninth inning to cut the deficit in half. Interial then faced Maryville's Corey Gall with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base. But Interial got Gall to hit a hard grounder to Calvird at second base, who started the 4-6-3 double play that closed out the Bearcats' victory.
 
Freshmen infielders Jacob Kline (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) and Blake Abbott (Peoria, IL/Dunlap) (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) each had two hits in the contest for McKendree.