(LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 6)—The bats of the McKendree University baseball team came to life Sunday as the Bearcats registered their second straight doubleheader split on Sunday at Bellarmine University. The Bearcats rolled to a 7-3 victory in the opener before dropping a 7-2 decision in game two.

McKendree improves to 9-16 overall and 5-13 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. The Bearcats will head north to Quincy, Ill., on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader at Quincy University. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

The Bearcats rapped out 21 hits on the day, including 14 in the game one victory. Senior outfielder Steven Todoschuk (Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada/Saltfleet) led the charge in the opener with three hits, and had five hits in the twinbill. Senior shortstop Tony Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) had three hits over the two games, including a two-hit, three-RBI performance in the Bearcats' win.

On the mound, freshman right-hander Jacob Renfrow (St. Louis, MO/Hancock) tossed six strong innings to notch his second victory of the year in game one. Renfrow allowed just four hits with two earned runs, a walk and two strikeouts.

After a scoreless first inning in game one, McKendree took control with an offensive outburst over the next two innings. The Bearcats started with a three-run second inning to grab the lead for good. With one out, McKendree strung together four consecutive hits to build a 1-0 lead. Junior outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) began the rally with a single, and junior first baseman Jeff Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem) followed with another single. Freshman infielder Tyson Boehne (Carlyle, IL/Carlyle) put the Bearcats on the scoreboard with a run-scoring single to plate Rutledge. Freshman catcher Kyle Jackson (Hoffman, IL/Carlyle) then reached on an infield single to load the bases.

Two batters later, Kossina delivered Boehne with an RBI single, and Todoschuk capped the rally with an RBI single to give McKendree its three-run advantage. Boehne and freshman outfielder Jay Roberts (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) added run-scoring singles in the third inning before Kossina capped the four-run outburst with a two-run double to extend the Bearcats' lead to 7-0.

Bellarmine (11-19, 4-14 GLVC) chipped away at the deficit with a run in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth to pull within 7-3. Sophomore left-hander Josh Tonozzi (Mark, IL/Putnam County) relieved Renfrow in the seventh inning and retired the side in order to preserve the victory for McKendree.

McKendree took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning of the nightcap. Freshman catcher Nathan Micklautz (Louisville, IL/North Clay) struck out to open the inning but reached first base on a wild pitch. After moving to second base on a balk, Micklautz scored thanks to an RBI double by Kossina. Bellarmine responded with four runs in the bottom of the third inning to grab the lead at 4-1.

In the fifth inning, McKendree scratched out a run to pull within 4-2. Micklautz opened the inning with an infield single and eventually came around to score on a balk. The Knights proceeded to put the game out of reach by scoring single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to earn the doubleheader split.

Freshman left-hander Dylan Salsman (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) was nicked for the loss, giving up three earned runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of work in game two.