(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., April 9)—It was a tale of two games Sunday for the McKendree University baseball team in its Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at the University of Indianapolis.
 
After suffering a 16-4 setback in game one, the Bearcats unleashed an offensive assault of record proportions to throttle the No. 10-ranked Greyhounds in the nightcap, 28-5. The 28 runs scored by McKendree represents an NCAA Division II-era record for the Bearcats, as does the team's 27 hits and 11 runs scored in the first inning of the contest. Sunday's outburst marked the first time in nearly five years that McKendree has plated at least 20 runs in a game. Back on April 25, 2012, the Bearcats steamed past Missouri Valley College 22-6 in Marshall, Mo.
 
The 23-run victory in the nightcap marked the Bearcats' first GLVC win of the 2017 season. McKendree is now 10-21 overall and 1-11 in league play. The Bearcats will step out of conference Tuesday for a contest at Saint Louis University that was just added to the McKendree schedule. The Bearcats and Billikens will tangle at 4 p.m. on the SLU campus.
 
Six different players had at least three hits in Sunday's second game for McKendree. Making his first start of the season, senior outfielder Jay Roberts (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) led the charge by going 3-for-5 with two triples, a home run and a career-high seven runs batted in. Junior catcher Matt DeLaVega (Lincolnwood, IL/Niles West) rapped out four hits with two RBI while scoring five times. Junior shortstop Jeff Wetzler (Newburgh, IN/Castle) was a perfect 4-for-4 in the nightcap with three runs scored and a pair of RBI.
 
In the middle of the order, senior infielder Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) and junior outfielder Brad Groleau (Peru, IL/St. Bede Academy) combined for six hits with nine RBI in game two. Fisher had three hits – including a triple and his first career home run – along with four runs scored and four runs batted in. Groleau delivered three hits as well which included a double and three-run home run to go along with five RBI. Sophomore infielder Luke Johnson (Barrington, IL/Barrington) joined in the fun with three hits and three runs scored as he also drove in three.
 
Junior outfielder Hayden Bodine (Washington, IL/Washington) had a triple among his two hits as he scored three times and added two RBI. Senior Ryan Cates (Anderson, IN/Yorktown) – who earned the win on the mound in game two – aided his own cause with two hits and two runs batted in as well.
 
To open game two, McKendree sent 15 batters to the plate in exploding for 11 runs in the first inning. Wetzler started the uprising with a one-out single before a single by Cates moved Wetzler to third base. An Indianapolis error on a grounder by Fisher then allowed Wetzler to score the first run of the contest. Groleau followed with an RBI double to left-center field to push the Bearcats' lead to 2-0.
 
DeLaVega stepped in next and ripped a two-run single to center field for a 4-0 advantage. DeLaVega reached third base on a single by junior infielder Andrew Aydt (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) and scored when Roberts bounced into a fielder's choice. Bodine added a single before Johnson delivered a run-scoring single to plate Roberts. Wetzler drew a walk to load the bases before another walk to Cates forced home Bodine to give McKendree a 7-0 cushion. Fisher then provided the big blow of the inning with a three-run triple to left-center field, stretching the Bearcats' lead to 10-0.
 
Groleau capped the Bearcats' largest offensive display of any inning this season with an RBI signle up the middle to score Fisher with the 11^th run of the frame.
 
McKendree went right back to work in the top of the second inning, scoring eight more times for a 19-0 lead. Roberts opened the scoring with an RBI triple before another run-scoring hit by Johnson gave the Bearcats a 13-run bulge. Wetzler followed with his own RBI single before Cates added a sacrifice fly to make it 15-0. Groleau then blasted a three-run home run down the right-field line and Roberts tacked on a sacrifice fly – his second RBI of the inning – to close out the eight-run rally.
 
An RBI double by Wetzler in the third inning pushed the Bearcats' lead to 20-0 before McKendree erupted for three more tallies in the fourth inning. DeLaVega led off with a single before Roberts reached on another fielder's choice. Bodine belted a two-run triple down the right field line, and Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to stretch the Bearcats' margin to 23-0.
 
A two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning helped McKendree grab a 25-0 lead. DeLaVega and Aydt drew back-to-back walks before Roberts ripped a two-run triple to right-center field. Indianapolis finally got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull within 25-2.
 
Fisher led off the top of the seventh with a solo home run to left field, and Roberts later followed with a two-run blast of his own to cap the Bearcats' offensive display for game two. The host Greyhounds added three runs in the bottom of the seventh to account for the final margin.
 
Cates allowed just two earned runs on four hits over six innings of work with two walks and five strikeouts. It marked Cates' second win in less than a week, which started with a strong five-inning effort in the Bearcats' 5-2 triumph over Maryville University on Tuesday at Hypes Field.
 
Indianapolis (23-10, 8-4 GLVC) jumped out in front early in game one, plating three runs in the first inning for a 3-0 lead. McKendree countered with two runs in the top of the second to pull within 3-2. Fisher led off the frame with a single and moved to second base on an error. Fisher reached third following a wild pitch and scored thanks to an RBI double off the bat of Groleau. Senior catcher Chris Deaville (Rantoul, IL/Rantoul) drove home Groleau on a ground out to help the Bearcats pull within a run.
 
The Greyhounds quickly put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom of the second and five more in the third to build a 12-2 cushion. Aydt ripped a run-scoring double in the fourth to bring the Bearcats within 12-3. After Indianapolis scored three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, DeLaVega closed out the game one scoring on a pinch-hit home run with one out in the seventh inning.