Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 1)—The McKendree University baseball team earned a split of its non-conference doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Bearcats held an early lead in the opener before dropping a 4-2 decision. McKendree then bounced back to snap a seven-game losing streak with a convincing 7-1 victory in game two.
 
The split gives McKendree an overall record of 19-23 heading into the final weekend of the 2013 regular season. The Bearcats will host Kentucky Wesleyan College in a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series at Hypes Field. The teams will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for noon each day.
 
Senior first baseman Rob Beatty (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) led the way in the game two win with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Sophomore outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) and junior shortstop Tony Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) each added two hits and two runs scored, while junior catcher/outfielder Kolton King (Marion, IL/Marion) drove in a pair of runs in the nightcap.
 
Sophomore right-hander Cole Wille (Maryville, IL/Collinsville), the third pitcher of the contest for McKendree, allowed just two hits over the final four innings to record the victory on the mound. Wille, who missed the 2012 season due to injury, picked up his first win on the mound since the 2011 American Midwest Conference Tournament, when he defeated Park University 9-4.
 
Rutledge, Kossina, Beatty and sophomore infielder Jake Kline (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) all had three hits in the doubleheader for McKendree.
 
In game two, McKendree took a 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a two-out rally. Rutledge singled up the middle, stole second base and came around to score on an RBI single by King. The Bearcats tacked on two more runs in the third inning to extend its lead to 3-0. Senior catcher Tom Collins (Collinsville, IL/Metro East Lutheran) started the frame when he reached on an infield single. Kossina and sophomore infielder Pierce Borah (Mt. Vernon, IL/Mt. Vernon) followed with consecutive bunt singles to load the bases before Beatty reached on an error to bring home Collins with the first run of the inning. Kossina scored on a double-play groundout to give the Bearcats a three-run advantage.
 
UMSL (26-16) scratched out a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 3-1. McKendree then took control with three runs in the sixth inning to stretch its lead to 6-1. Beatty doubled off the center-field fence to open the outburst. Kline then walked before Rutledge doubled down the left-field line to plate Beatty with the first run of the inning.
 
King then reached on an error to score Kline, and senior outfielder Pat Thole (Carlyle, IL/Breese Central) capped the frame with an RBI groundout to bring home Rutledge to give McKendree a 6-1 lead. Kossina scored the Bearcats' final run of the contest in the seventh inning when he led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Borah and scored on an RBI double by Beatty.
 
McKendree built a 2-0 lead in the first game with single runs in the third and fourth innings. In the third, Thole led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore infielder Blake Abbott (Peoria, IL/Dunlap). Rutledge reached on an infield single to advance Thole to third base. Kossina stepped up next and drilled an RBI single to center field to score Thole with the first run of the contest.
 
Kline singled to lead off the fourth inning and reached second base on a wild pitch. Sophomore infielder Jeff Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem) then delivered Kline with a run-scoring single to push the Bearcats' lead to 2-0.
 
The host Tritons tied the game with two runs in the fifth inning, then plated two more in the sixth inning to grab its only lead of the day at 4-2. John Pilackas drove the first pitch he saw from McKendree freshman left-hander Sam Lidisky (Swansea, IL/Althoff Catholic) in the bottom of the sixth inning over the left-center field fence for the game-winning hit.
 
Lidisky was solid in defeat for McKendree, giving up four earned runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.