Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (KIRKSVILLE, Mo., March 21)—The McKendree University baseball team grabbed its first two Great Lakes Valley Conference wins of the season on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep at Truman State University. The Bearcats overcame a late deficit in the opener to post an 11-8 victory before taking a 3-1 triumph in game two.
 
McKendree boosted its record to 3-11 overall and 2-4 in GLVC play. The Bearcats and Bulldogs will close out their four-game weekend series Sunday afternoon with another league twinbill. First pitch is set for noon in Kirksville, Mo.
 
Freshman outfielder Brad Groleau (Peru, IL/St. Bede Academy) had a productive day in his first two starts of the season for McKendree. Groleau was a combined 3-for-8 at the plate, which included a go-ahead, three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning of game one that capped the Bearcats' comeback from an 8-6 deficit. Senior infielder Jake Kline (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) and junior infielder Adam Kunkel (Red Bud, IL/Red Bud) each had three hits on the day, which included their first round-trippers of the season. Kline drove in four runs in the opener while Kunkel added two RBI. Sophomore infielder Justin Becker (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) had a hit and RBI in each contest for McKendree.
 
McKendree jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the third inning of game one. Sophomore outfielder Jay Roberts (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) reached on a single and scored on a two-out, two-run blast by Kunkel to get the Bearcats on the scoreboard. Senior infielder Pierce Borah (Mt. Vernon, IL/Mt. Vernon) and senior outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) followed with consecutive singles before junior catcher Connor Davault (Farmington, MO/Farmington) reached on an error to load the bases.
 
Kline stepped up next and belted a grand slam over the left field fence to give McKendree a six-run cushion. Truman State (11-4, 4-2 GLVC) then cut the Bearcats' lead in half with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning. The Bulldogs then plated two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth inning to take its first lead of the day at 8-6.
 
Groleau led off the eighth inning for McKendree with a single. After moving to second on a ground out, Groleau came around to score on an RBI double by Becker to trim the Bearcats' deficit to 8-7. Davault and Kline started the game-winning rally for McKendree with back-to-back singles to lead off the ninth inning. Sophomore catcher Kyle Jackson (Hoffman, IL/Carlyle) then reached on an error when his sacrifice bunt attempt was misplayed, allowing Davault to score the tying run for an 8-8 deadlock.
 
After working the count full, Groleau ripped his three-run home run to right field, pushing McKendree back in front at 11-8. Junior left-hander Josh Tonozzi (Mark, IL/Putnam County), who came on in relief in the sixth inning, then retired Truman State in the bottom half of the ninth to earn the victory on the mound. Tonozzi allowed one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts to notch his first win of 2015.
 
McKendree rapped out 17 hits in the opener, including two each by Kunkel, Borah, Rutledge, Kline, Jackson, Groleau, Roberts and Becker.
 
Junior left-hander Sam Lidisky (Swansea, IL/Althoff Catholic) helped McKendree secure the doubleheader sweep by tossing a complete-game five-hitter in the nightcap. Lidisky walked one batter and fanned four to collect his second victory this season.
 
The Bearcats grabbed the early lead with a run in the top of the second inning. Kline reached on a one-out single and moved to third thanks to a base hit by junior infielder John Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem). Groleau then bounced into a fielder's choice to score Kline with the first run of the contest. Truman State quickly responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the frame to knot the score at 1-1.
 
McKendree took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore infielder Tyson Boehne (Carlyle, IL/Carlyle) led off with a single, moved to second on a bunt single by Kunkel and took third base on a Bulldogs' error. Boehne then scored the go-ahead run on an RBI single off the bat of Becker. Davault added an insurance tally with a run-scoring double to bring home Kunkel.
 
From there, Lidisky retired the final six batters he faced to close out the Bearcats' doubleheader sweep. Lidisky needed just 84 pitches to register the game two win.