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Box Score 2 (LEBANON, Ill., May 2)—The McKendree University baseball team opened its final Great Lakes Valley Conference series of the season on Saturday with a pair of losses to visiting Bellarmine University Saturday afternoon at Hypes Field. The Knights outlasted the Bearcats in the opener by a score of 9-5 before taking an 8-1 decision in game two.
McKendree slips to 9-37 overall and is now 8-26 in GLVC action. The Bearcats will close out the 2015 season Sunday by hosting Bellarmine for another league twinbill. First pitch for the Senior Day doubleheader is slated for noon. Following the first game on Sunday, McKendree will honor its seven senior players – infielder
Pierce Borah (Mt. Vernon, IL/Mt. Vernon), infielder
Jason Hobson (Griggsville, IL/Griggsville-Perry), pitcher
Vince Kiefer (Lenzburg, IL/New Athens), third baseman
Jake Kline (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North), outfielder
Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal), pitcher
Matt Sax (Chicago, IL/Jones Prep) and first baseman
Jeff Tolliver (Salem, IL/Salem) – in a special ceremony.
Against Bellarmine, Tolliver collected a season-high four hits in game one, while Kline, Rutledge and sophomore outfielder
Grant Anderson (Mackinaw, IL/Deer Creek-Mackinaw) each had a pair of hits in the opener. Junior shortstop
Adam Kunkel (Red Bud, IL/Red Bud) and freshman outfielder
Brad Groleau (Peru, IL/St. Bede Academy), along with Kline, had hits in both games against the Knights.
Game one on Saturday featured 27 hits in a contest that took just over three hours to complete. Each team scored a run in the first inning. After Bellarmine's Austin Crutcher hit a solo home run in the top of the first to give the Knights a 1-0 lead, McKendree countered with a run in the bottom of the frame. Kunkel started the inning with a single to center field. Following a walk to Rutledge, Groleau dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Kline then reached on an infield single to score Kunkel with the tying run.
Bellarmine (26-22, 18-16 GLVC) added single runs in the third and fifth innings to take a 3-1 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, Kline and Borah produced back-to-back singles to start a rally for McKendree. Two batters later, Tolliver reached on a fielder's choice, and Kline came around to score on a throwing error by the Knights to pull the Bearcats within 3-2. After Bellarmine regained a two-run lead in the top of the sixth at 4-2, McKendree answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to knot the score at 4-4. Anderson ripped a leadoff double and Kunkel walked before Rutledge delivered an RBI single to plate Anderson. Rutledge later scored the tying run with two outs thanks to a dropped fly ball.
In the seventh inning, Bellarmine took the lead for good by scoring twice before adding three more runs in the top of the ninth for a 9-4 advantage. McKendree loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth when Rutledge had a run-scoring infield single to bring the Bearcats within four runs. The Knights were able to record the final out with the potential tying run at the plate to preserve the game one win.
Sophomore left-hander
Mitchell Langenhorst (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) started the opener for McKendree and allowed three earned runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Freshman right-hander
Blake Deatherage (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) was tagged with the loss.
Bellarmine left-hander Austin Warner tossed a complete-game three-hitter in the nightcap to help propel the Knights to the doubleheader sweep. Warner did walk five but he struck out eight batters while throwing 113 pitches in the outing. After Bellarmine took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third, McKendree answered with its only tally of the game in the bottom of the inning. Kunkel drilled a ground-rule double to left-center field to start the inning. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Groleau reached on an error.
Sophomore right-hander
Jacob Renfrow (St. Louis, MO/Hancock) was charged with the loss after scattering 10 hits over five innings of work. Renfrow allowed just three earned runs and fanned three batters in the effort.
