Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (ROLLA, Mo., March 16)—The McKendree University baseball team collected their first wins in Great Lakes Valley Conference competition on Saturday as the Bearcats rolled to a doubleheader sweep at Missouri S & T. McKendree dominated game one in a 6-2 triumph and had to rally for an 8-5 decision in the nightcap.
 
McKendree improves to 7-4 overall and moves to 2-2 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will open a six-game home stand by hosting Maryville University Wednesday at 2 p.m.
 
Freshman left-hander Sam Lidisky (Swansea, IL/Althoff Catholic) tossed his second complete-game victory of the week as he limited Missouri S & T to six hits in Saturday's opener. Lidisky scattered six hits and struck out five. At one point in the contest, Lidisky retired 16 consecutive Miner hitters.
 
In game two, McKendree used the strength of a four-run fourth inning to grab the lead for good, then turned to another freshman lefty – Josh Tonozzi (Mark, IL/Putnam County) – to hold on for the win. Tonozzi picked up a rare four-inning save by holding Missouri S & T to just two hits and induced three double-play ground balls during his outing.
 
Offensively, McKendree collected 22 hits on the day, including a season-best 13 in game one. Sophomore infielder Jeff Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem) had multi-hit efforts in each game of the twinbill, including a three-hit performance in game two. Sophomore infielder Jake Kline (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) chipped in with four hits, three of which were provided in the opener.
 
The Bearcats took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of game one when Tolliver led off with a double and Kline produced a run-scoring single. McKendree tacked on two more runs in the third inning for a 3-0 advantage. Sophomore outfielder Bryce Harre (Nashville, IL/Nashville) and junior infielder Tony Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) started the frame with consecutive singles. Following a sacrifice bunt by senior outfielder Pat Thole (Carlyle, IL/Breese Central), sophomore outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) delivered Harre with an RBI single. Kossina scored when Rutledge was caught stealing to stretch the McKendree lead to three runs.
 
Kline began another two-run rally for McKendree with a leadoff single in the fourth inning. He eventually scored on a Missouri S & T wild pitch, while Thole collected an RBI single to give the Bearcats a  5-0 cushion.  McKendree scored its final run of the contest in the sixth inning when senior first baseman Rob Beatty (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) collected his first career triple with one out and scored on a Kline RBI single.
 
Meanwhile, Lidisky dominated the Missouri S & T hitters over the first 5 2/3 innings. After allowing a one-out single to Clint Wobbe in the first inning, Lidisky retired the next 16 batters he faced. The streak was broken up on a two-out bunt single in the sixth inning when the Miners scored their only runs of the contest to pull within 6-2. Missouri S & T threatened again in the seventh, but Lidisky struck out the final batter of the contest to wrap up his second complete game in four days. He tossed a seven-hitter in a 4-2 win over Harris-Stowe State University on Tuesday.
 
McKendree jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the nightcap when Kossina led off the contest with a walk and came around to score on an RBI single by Tolliver. Missouri S & T (3-9, 2-2 GLVC) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the frame to grab a 3-1 lead. The Bearcats scratched out a run in the top of the third to pull within 3-2. With two outs, Kline worked out a walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch. Tolliver then ripped a double off the left-field fence to bring Kline home. The Miners added a run in the bottom of the inning to build its advantage back to 4-2.
 
In the fourth inning, McKendree sent nine batters to the plate and scored four times to take the lead for good at 6-4. Junior catcher Tyler Collins (Marietta, GA/Walker) was hit by the first pitch of the frame and advanced to second on a one-out single by sophomore infielder Blake Abbott (Peoria, IL/Dunlap). Harre stepped up next and singled up the middle to score Collins and bring the Bearcats within 4-3.
 
Abbott scored thanks to an RBI single by Kossina to tie the contest at 4-4. A walk to Rutledge loaded the bases before Kline reached on a fielder's choice to score Harre with the go-ahead run. Another run-scoring single by Tolliver capped the uprising to give McKendree a two-run lead.
 
The Bearcats added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to stretch the margin to 8-4. Rutledge drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the tally in the fifth inning, while sophomore outfielder Jason Hobson (Griggsville, IL/Griggsville-Perry) had an RBI groundout in the sixth inning.
 
Missouri S & T tried to rally against Tonozzi in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Miners scored once and had the tying run at the plate with one out. But Tonozzi struck out the final two Missouri S & T batters to seal the win and the doubleheader sweep.
 
Junior right-hander Ben Dallesasse (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb) picked up his first victory of the season by scattering five hits and five walks over five-plus innings of work. Dallesasse gave up three earned runs and fanned one before giving way to Tonozzi in the bottom of the sixth inning.