(LOUISVIILLE, Ky., April 2)—The McKendree University baseball team dropped both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Bellarmine University. A late rally by the Bearcats came up just short in a 7-6 loss in game one before the host Knights posted a 2-0 shutout victory in the nightcap.
McKendree moves to 10-15 overall and 2-4 in league play. The Bearcats and Knights will close out their four-game weekend series Sunday afternoon with another twinbill that starts at noon ET.
Senior infielder
Adam Kunkel (Red Bud, IL/Red Bud) went 4-for-4 in game one and scored a pair of runs to help show the way for McKendree. Junior catcher
Chris Deaville (Rantoul, IL/Rantoul) chipped in with two hits and a pair of RBIs against the Knights, while freshman infielder
Luke Johnson (Barrington, IL/Barrington) also drove in two runs in the contest.
Game one was scoreless until the top of the third inning, when McKendree used a two-out rally to take a 1-0 lead. Kunkel collected the game's first hit with a bunt single and moved to second on a passed ball. Johnson then delivered Kunkel with a run-scoring single to right field to put the Bearcats on top. Bellarmine (11-13, 3-3 GLVC) answered with three runs in the bottom of the third to surge in front at 3-1. The Knights then added a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to extend its advantage to 6-1.
McKendree began its comeback bid in the top of the seventh by plating a pair of runs to cut the margin in half at 6-3. Deaville led off with a walk and Kunkel followed with a double to advance Deaville to third base. Johnson and junior infielder
Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) each produced RBI groundouts to score Deaville and Kunkel, respectively.
After Bellarmine scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to regain a 7-3 advantage, McKendree pounded out three more runs in the top of the eighth to get back within one. Junior outfielder
Grant Anderson (Mackinaw, IL/Deer Creek-Mackinaw) opened the frame with a double and reached third on a wild pitch. Junior outfielder
Colton Calhoun (Mt. Zion, IL/Mt. Zion) then drew a walk before Deaville belted a two-run double to left field to help the Bearcats rally within 7-5. Deaville reached third on a single by Kunkel and scored on a wild pitch to get McKendree within 7-6.
The Bearcats put the potential tying run on base in the top of the ninth inning, but Bellarmine was able to thwart the McKendree comeback attempt. Junior right-hander
Ryan Cates (Anderson, IN/Yorktown) worked the first six innings on the mound for the Bearcats in taking the loss. Cates allowed six earned runs on eight hits with a strikeout.
Game two played out as a pitcher's duel between left-handers Hunter Spencer of Bellarmine and senior
Josh Tonozzi (Mark, IL/Putnam County) for McKendree. Both hurlers went the distance in the seven-inning contest as the host Knights scratched out single runs in the third and fifth innings to hang on for the sweep. Tonozzi took the hard-luck defeat, scattering seven hits in his six innings on the day. He allowed two earned runs and walked two batters. Spencer tossed a complete-game three-hitter for Bellarmine. Calhoun accounted for the only extra-base hit in the contest for McKendree with a third-inning double.
