(LEBANON, Ill., May 6)—The McKendree University baseball team notched a split on Sunday of its Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at home against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The visiting Rangers posted their lone win of the weekend with a 7-2 triumph in game one before the Bearcats rebounded to in the nightcap and the final contest of their 2018 season, 14-9.
With its split on Sunday, McKendree closes its season with an overall record of 11-37. The Bearcats went 6-17 in GLVC play.
Sunday also marked Senior Day at Hypes Field. McKendree honored its four senior players – outfielder Grant Anderson, pitcher Blake Thompson, infielder Jeff Wetzler and pitcher Nick Yung – prior to first pitch of game one. The quartet made important contributions throughout the course of Sunday's twinbill. Anderson led the way with four hits with homers in each contest while driving in seven runs. Anderson's grand slam in the first inning of game one was the first of two in the game for the Bearcats.
Wetzler had an RBI hit and a run scored in the nightcap while turning a spectacular double play on a line drive in the eighth inning. Yung matched a season-high with six strikeouts over five innings in the game one start for the Bearcats. Thompson registered the final three outs in game two to help finish off the Bearcats' victory.
Sophomore outfielder Blake Gray collected three hits and five RBI in game two while hitting the Bearcats' other grand slam in the contest. Junior first baseman Andrew Aydt had three hits on the day, including a 2-for-4 effort in the nightcap with a long home run over the right field fence in the sixth inning.
After dropping the opener, McKendree wasted little time in taking a 4-0 lead. Junior infielder Luke Johnson led off with a single and reached second on an error. Wetzler drew a walk before Aydy singled to right field to load the bases. Anderson then stepped in and blasted his grand slam deep over the left field fence to provide the Bearcats with an early four-run cushion.
Wisconsin-Parkside (6-31, 5-19 GLVC) countered with a run in the second to pull within 4-1 before the Bearcats mounted a two-out, two-run rally in the fourth to build a 6-1 advantage. Gray and Johnson put together consecutive doubles before Wetzler's RBI single capped the rally. The Rangers then put up seven runs in the top of the fifth to take an 8-6 lead.
cKendree answered right back by scoring five times in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good at 11-8. The Bearcats loaded the bases before freshman catcher Connor McCormick reached on an infield single to bring home Aydt and cut the deficit to 8-7. On the next pitch, Gray belted his grand slam over the high netting in right field to give McKendree the lead once again.
The teams traded runs in the sixth inning, with the Bearcats' run coming courtesy of Aydt's solo homer. McKendree then added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Freshman right-hander Connor Gilles worked out of a jam in the fifth inning to pick up the mound win for McKendree.
In the opener, Wisconsin-Parkside opened up a 2-0 lead in the second inning before McKendree cut the deficit in half in the fourth. Anderson took the first pitch he saw leading off the frame and ripped a solo homer to left field to bring the Bearcats within a run. The Rangers added two runs in the fifth and another in the top of the sixth to stretch its lead to 5-1. In the bottom of the sixth, McKendree added its final run of the contest thanks to a run-scoring single off the bat of Anderson.
