(LEBANON, Ill., May 1)—The McKendree University baseball team posted a doubleheader split Monday afternoon against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in the Bearcats' final home games of the 2017 season. McKendree was edged 8-7 in eight innings in the opener before bouncing back with an 8-6 triumph in the nightcap in games played on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus.
On Senior Day for McKendree, it was junior infielder
Andrew Aydt (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) who stepped into the spotlight as he belted a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two to propel the Bearcats to the win. The split gives McKendree a 13-30 overall record and a 2-20 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will be on the road for their final games of the season Friday and Saturday with a four-game series at Lewis University. The teams will play doubleheaders each day in Romeoville, Ill., with first pitch set for noon.
Senior outfielder
Jay Roberts (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North), junior infielder
Jeff Wetzler (Newburgh, IN/Castle) and sophomore infielder
Luke Johnson (Barrington, IL/Barrington) each rapped out four hits on Monday against UW-Parkside. Roberts had two hits in each contest, while Wetzler collected three hits in the opener and Johnson produced three hits in game two. Senior infielder
Matt Walsh (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton Warrenville South) delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one to force extra innings for the Bearcats.
McKendree trailed UW-Parkside 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning of the nightcap when the Bearcats erupted for five runs in the frame to take a 6-5 lead. Roberts, Johnson and Wetzler opened the inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases. Senior infielder
Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) stepped in next and ripped a two-run single to right field, scoring Roberts and Johnson trim the McKendree deficit to 5-3.
Two batters later, junior catcher
Matt DeLaVega (Lincolnwood, IL/Niles West) grounded out to third base, allowing Wetzler to score to get the Bearcats within a run. After Aydt was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners, senior outfielder
Brad Groleau (Peru, IL/St. Bede Academy) belted a two-run triple to deep center field, bringing home Fisher and Aydt to put McKendree in front for the first time in the contest.
Wisconsin-Parkside (16-20, 10-12 GLVC) tied the game 6-6 on a solo home run from Domenic Hammudeh with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. The Rangers eventually loaded the bases before senior right-hander
Matt Henning (Wichita, KS/Bishop Carroll) was able to induce a fielder's choice grounder to end the inning.
DeLaVega led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double to right-center field. Senior infielder
Cody Hall (Harrisburg, IL/Harrisburg) came in as a pinch-runner for DeLaVega and moved to third base thanks to a sacrifice bunt from senior outfielder
Ryan Cates (Anderson, IN/Yorktown). Aydt stepped in next and blasted an 0-1 pitch over the right-center field fence to start the walk-off celebration at home plate for the Bearcats. The home run was the first of the season for Aydt.
In the opener, McKendree overcame a 1-0 UW-Parkside lead by scoring three times in the bottom of the third inning for a 3-1 advantage. Roberts reached on a one-out error and promptly stole second base. After Cates was hit by a pitch, Johnson singled through the left side to plate Roberts with the tying run. Wetzler then gave the Bearcats a 2-1 lead with an RBI single of his own to score Cates. McKendree eventually loaded the bases with DeLaVega was hit by a pitch to force home Johnson with the final run of the frame.
The Rangers quickly tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning, then took a 5-3 advantage by scoring twice in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, McKendree was down to its final out before mounting a rally. Fisher and DeLaVega before Groleau drew a walk to load the bases. Walsh stepped to the plate and delivered a two-out, two-run single to tie the contest at 5-5 and force extra innings.
After UW-Parkside scored three times in the top of the eighth to grab an 8-5 lead, McKendree put together another threat in the bottom of the frame. Roberts led off with a double and came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Wetzler. Fisher reached on an infield single before senior catcher
Chris Deaville (Rantoul, IL/Rantoul) produced an RBI single that scored Wetzler to bring the Bearcats within a run at 8-7. The Rangers were then able to record the final out to collect the game one victory.
