BOX SCORES -- GAME 1 | GAME 2

(SPRINGFIELD, Mo., March 4)—The McKendree University baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader Sunday at Drury University in Springfield, Mo. The Bearcats were defeated in the first contest 16-3 before the host Panthers rolled to a 15-1 win in the nightcap.
 
The losses give McKendree a 2-9 overall record heading into a Tuesday road contest at Greenville College. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. The Greenville game will wrap up a season-opening 12-game road trip for the Bearcats.
 
In the opener, Drury (5-3) scored three runs in each of the first four innings to build a 12-0 advantage. McKendree answered with three runs in the top of the fifth, the first coming on an RBI single by senior outfielder Brandyn Snider (Fielden, IL/Jersey Community) (Fielden, Ill./Jersey Community). After the second run scored on a double play, freshman infielder Pierce Borah (Mt. Vernon, IL/Mt. Vernon) (Mt. Vernon, Ill./Mt. Vernon) raced home with the Bearcats' final run on a wild pitch.
 
The Panthers countered the McKendree outburst with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to seal the victory. Drury pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of eight walks by five different McKendree pitchers. Senior Austin Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) (Washington, Ill./Washington) was nicked for three runs and four hits in the first inning before leaving after throwing three pitches in the second inning.
 
Snider and Borah each had two of the seven hits collected in game one by McKendree.
 
 Game two started in similar fashion with Drury scoring twice in the first inning and four more times in the third inning to grab a 7-0 lead. After plating another run in the fourth, the Panthers erupted for five runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh to stretch the margin to 13-0.
 
McKendree scored its only run of the contest in the eighth inning. Freshman infielder Jacob Kline (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, and senior catcher Jordan Luttrell (Xenia, IL/Flora) (Xenia, Ill./Flora) followed with a double. Freshman outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) (Bloomington, Ill./Normal) reached on an infield single to score Kline and cut the deficit to 13-1. But the Panthers closed the scoring in the bottom of the eighth with two more runs. Drury had 22 hits in the game off three different Bearcat pitchers.
 
Three of the four hits for McKendree in the nightcap went for extra bases. Junior first baseman Rob Beatty (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) (Millstadt, Ill./Belleville West) broke up a perfect-game bid by Austin Faulconer with a two-out double in the fifth inning. Sophomore outfielder Tony Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) (Millstadt, Ill./Belleville West) also had a double in the contest for the Bearcats.
 
Freshman Rich Dimock (Troy, IL/Triad) (Troy, Ill./Triad) took the game two loss, surrendering six earned runs and six hits over three innings of work.