LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University baseball (10-19, 5-6 GLVC) split its Saturday afternoon double-header matchup with the Tritons of Missouri-St. Louis (7-18, 6-5 GLVC), winning game one, 10-2, and dropped game two, 16-1. The Bearcats fired away in the first contest of the double-header with 10 runs on 10 hits while junior pitcher
Mac Grant added a second-straight complete game with his performance on the hill. In game two, the Bearcats struggled to hold the Tritons off the bases early in the contest, eventually dropping the seven-inning outing.
GAME 1
The first seven-inning contest of the day started off with a quick no-hit first inning for the Tritons while McKendree started off with a shot to left field by freshman infielder
Gavin Arseneau. The inning did not stop with the solo homer as graduate outfielder
Ryan Hutchinson walked and then stole second and third base over the next two at-bats. Senior outfielder
Corey Price then doubled, driving in Hutchinson and pushing the lead to 2-0.
UMSL tied the game, 2-2, in third after a pair of singles drove in a pair of runs.
McKendree's battery then added another run behind an Arseneau double in the fourth, which brought home senior infielder
JP Kehoe. In the fifth, the Bearcats went on a quick tear, which featured four hits and four runs. Sophomore outfielder
Joseph Copeland and senior infielder
Joseph Costanzo started it off with two singles, which placed Copeland on second and Costanzo on first. Sophomore catcher
Tommy Mohan added a third single which brought in Copeland for the inning's first run (4-2). Junior outfielder
Katom Parnell then fired a long ball for a triple, which scored Costanzo and Parnell (6-2). Parnell made it home on a wild pitch during Arseneau's at-bat (7-2). McKendree scored its final three runs in the bottom of the sixth after a multiple runners reached on walks.
Mac Grant (3-1) grabbed another complete game victory with his full seven innings of work, striking out four and allowing two runs.
GAME 2
McKendree was unable to gain traction in the second matchup of the day and allowed 11 runs in the second inning to the Tritons. McKendree could not stop the rolling visitor after the second with UMSL scoring five more to end the game.
The Bearcats sole run of the second game came in the bottom of the sixth via a solo bomb by Price.
UP NEXT
McKendree baseball will be back on the field for the fourth and final game of its home series against UMSL on Sunday, April 10, at Noon.
