EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – McKendree baseball (7-11, 1-3 GLVC) get one win in the opening weekend of Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play against UIndy (9-10, 3-1 GLVC) in Edwardsville this past weekend.
Game One | McKendree 7, Indianapolis 6
Adam Galdoni (W: 2-2); Drake Downing (L: 0-1); Owen Dunn (Save 1)
In the first game of the series, the Bearcats never panicked despite the 6-1 deficit going into the bottom of the fifth. Quest Hull and Peyton Bittle got the Bearcats on the board, both with RBI singles in the fourth and fifth innings.
Gavin Arseneau cut into the deficit in the following inning with a solo home run to left field. Later in the inning, Sage McMinn would ground out to first, however it would bring around Javy Garcia to score to bring it to a two-score game.
In the eighth, Hull would hit a ground rule double to get Arseneau home. Then Hunter Sherman would come in to pinch hit with the bases loaded. He would proceed to hit a double to left field which would score two and give McKendree the 7-6 victory.
Trey Cole got the start on the mound and would strikeout eight in his five innings. Adam Galdoni would get the win decision coming in the sixth inning and pitching three innings and add on five strikeouts to his season total. Owen Dunn would pitch in the ninth to record his first save of the season.
Game Two | Indianapolis 13, McKendree 12
Griffin Hallahan (W: 2-0); Parker Johnson (L: 0-1)
In the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, both teams were getting the scoring started early as there was a combined seven runs scored mostly due to walks by both pitchers.
Offensively, the Bearcats had six hits and drew 13 free bases in the game. Max Meuli led the game with two hits and five RBIs with a grand slam in the fourth and a fielder's choice in the seventh that Kyle Richardson would come across to score on. Garcia and McMinn each have two RBIs in the game. Bittle would end the game with one RBI with a single in the seventh.
On the mound Josh Dima would have a slow start in the first but once settled in he would end with seven strikeouts and only gave up three hits in four innings of work. Parker Johnson and Davis Beale would combine for four strikeouts. Luke Aubuchon would come in to close the game.
Game Three | Indianapolis 6, McKendree 2 (10 Inn.)
Jeryn Shortt (W: 1-0); Eli Dyer (L: 0-1)
The third game started out slow offensively, as there was only four combined runs in the first six innings. Both pitchers and defense for the teams played well only giving up eight runs and 15 hits total.
Offensively for McKendree, Gabe Deaver, Meuli and Garcia led the way with two hits apiece. It was Arseneau who got the Bearcats only runs on the board with a two-run shot in the third. Also getting hits in the contest were McMinn and Gavin Noreus.
The Greyhounds would tie the game up in the sixth which would eventually send the game into extra innings. They would then go onto score four in the top of the 10th to win the game.
Calan Kujawa would get the start pitching and strike out seven in six innings while only allowing two hits. Eli Dyer would get credited with the loss, however he would strike out two in his 3.1 innings. Ben Amador would finish out the game and strike out one.
Game Four | Indianapolis 13, McKendree 11
Ayden Tran (W: 1-1); Hunter MacLeod (L: 0-1) Drake Downing (Save: 3)
To finish the series, McKendree would take an early three run lead scoring in the first and third. The runs would come off of a passed ball which Garcia would take advantage of a passed ball, an RBI single from Bittle and another RBI single from Arseneau in the third.
The offense would remain at a standstill until the eighth where the Bearcats would notch seven runs to cut into the 13-2 lead. In that offensive burst, Noah Shuman would blast a two-run homer to center field. Later in the inning, Meuli would also hit a three-run homer to left center to make the score 13-8. Bittle would then double to send Hull and Arseneau home to end the scoring run. Meuli would have a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to get one more run back.
Rhett Detering would start the last game and go 3.2 innings while striking out five in his day on the mound. The rest of the pitching staff would combine for six strikeouts to end the game.
Next Up
McKendree is on the road this next weekend for a four-game series against Rockhurst University. Starting on Friday, the teams will play one nine-inning game at 6:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, there will be a doubleheader of seven-inning games starting at 12:00 p.m. Finishing up the series on Sunday, there will be one more nine-inning game at 1:00 p.m. The games will be played at Loyola Park Baseball Field in Kansas City, Missouri.
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