LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University baseball (9-17, 4-4 GLVC) claimed its first Great Lakes Valley Conference series of the spring, out-pacing the visiting Rockhurst Hawks (12-14, 2-6 GLVC) with a 16-13, game four win to clinch a 3-1 series victory. The Bearcats were led to the win with eight batters earning at least one hit while four collected at least one homerun in the fourth and final game of the weekend. McKendree moved to to a tie for third place in the GLVC's Green Division with Maryville, UMSL, and William Jewell, each at 4-4 in the league. The Bearcats take on UMSL in its next series on April 8-10 at Hypes Field.
Senior infielder
Alex Steinbach opened up the scoring in the series finale with a deep solo bomb to right field, which put McKendree up 1-0 over the Hawks. The homer was Steinbach's fourth of the weekend and extended his hitting streak to five games.
Following the single-run first inning by the Bearcats, Rockhurst put up a pair of runs in the top of the second to take the lead, 2-1.
McKendree did not wait long to retake the lead with five runs between the third and sixth innings. The scoring was kicked-off through sophomore outfielder
Joseph Copeland dropping a single into center field during the third, which, after a mishandled throw by the Hawks, brought in senior outfielder
Corey Price (2-2). In the bottom of the fourth, freshman infielder
Gavin Arseneau whipped a ball down the left field line to bring in junior outfielder
Katom Parnell (3-2). After the line drive by Arseneau, graduate outfielder
Ryan Hutchinson hit a deep ball of the left field wall to drive in the freshman Arseneau. McKendree added two more runs in the inning through a hit-by-pitch and a passed ball from the Hawks, making the lead 6-2. In the sixth, Steinbach ran it back for another solo shot homer to left center, pushing the lead to five runs (7-2).
The seventh inning led to a flurry of scoring between both teams with Rockhurst tying the game at seven runs in the top half. The Bearcats managed six runs of their own in the bottom half of the seventh with three-straight homers by sophomore catcher
Tommy Mohan, Hutchinson, and Copeland (13-7).
Rockhurst went on to tie the game, once again, in the eighth at 13 runs a piece. McKendree, in the bottom of the eighth, earned a pair of runs with a single by Price to drive in Hutchinson and Arseneau. The second single was added by Copeland, which brought in Steinbach, which made the lead 16-13 for McKendree.
The Bearcats closed out the game in the top of the ninth, holding off the Hawks' offense. Sophomore pitcher
Mark Branz earned his third win of the spring (3-0) while McKendree evened-up its GLVC record at 4-4 while improving to 9-17 overall.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back at Hypes Field for another GLVC series on April 8-10 against Missouri-St. Louis.
