Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 (INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., April 12)—The McKendree University baseball team dropped both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds held off a late comeback bid from the Bearcats to notch a 7-5 win in the opener before rolling to a 13-3 triumph in game two.
McKendree slips to 7-25 overall and 6-16 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will return to Hypes Field this week for a six-game home stand, which begins Tuesday with a conference twinbill against the University of Illinois Springfield. First pitch is set for noon.
Junior shortstop
Adam Kunkel (Red Bud, IL/Red Bud) had three hits on the day for McKendree, including a pair in game one. He also scored twice in the opener. Sophomore catcher
Kyle Jackson (Hoffman, IL/Carlyle) and freshman outfielder
Brad Groleau (Peru, IL/St. Bede Academy) each knocked in two runs during the first contest on Sunday. Sophomore outfielder
Grant Anderson (Mackinaw, IL/Deer Creek-Mackinaw) was the lone McKendree player to collect two hits in the nightcap.
The Bearcats jumped out in front early in game one, plating a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Kunkel led off the game with a single before Groleau dropped down a bunt single. Both Kunkel and Groleau moved up on a sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder
John Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem) and scored thanks to a two-out, two-run single to left field by Jackson. The 2-0 lead stood until the bottom of the fifth, when Indianapolis erupted for five runs to take a 5-2 advantage.
Tolliver brought McKendree within 5-3 when he blasted his first home run of the season leading off the sixth inning. The Greyhounds countered by scoring twice in the bottom of the frame to extend their margin to 7-3. The Bearcats then put together a rally in the seventh inning, scoring two runs and getting the tying run to the plate. Senior third baseman
Jake Kline (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) led off with a single before senior outfielder
Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) walked. A double play ground ball advanced Kline to third base. Kunkel then drew a walk to extend the inning and took second base before Groleau ripped a two-run single to right field to bring McKendree within two runs. But Indianapolis was able to record the final out to collect the game one victory.
Freshman right-hander
Nick Yung (Smithton, IL/Freeburg) was charged with the loss on the mound for McKendree. Yung allowed just one earned run over five innings of work. He gave up five hits, walked three and struck out one batter in the outing.
Indianapolis (19-13, 15-7 GLVC) took control early in the second game, sending 15 batters to the plate in an 11-run second inning. The Greyhounds added another run in the fifth inning to push their lead to 12-0 before McKendree got on the board with three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Senior infielder
Jason Hobson (Griggsville, IL/Griggsville-Perry) was hit by a pitch leading off the frame before Anderson doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Senior first baseman
Jeff Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem) came up as a pinch-hitter and doubled to right-center field to plate Hobson with the first run of the inning.
Anderson later scored on a wild pitch before senior infielder
Pierce Borah (Mt. Vernon, IL/Mt. Vernon) drove home Tolliver with a sacrifice fly to center field to cap the scoring in the inning. Indianapolis scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning to account for the final margin.
