LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree baseball (6-8) got the bats hot in the series against Upper Iowa (6-7) winning three out of the four games this past weekend at Hypes Field.
Game One | McKendree 14, Upper Iowa 7
Trey Cole (W: 2-2); Cael Luzum (L: 0-1)
In the first game of the series, there was no shortage of scoring as there was a combined 21 runs scored in the game. Hunter Sherman set the tone right off the bat as he blasted a solo shot to center field on the first pitch he saw to take an early 1-0 lead.
However, Upper Iowa would tie it up with a homer of their own in the top of the second. The Bearcats quickly responded in their half of the inning off a Quest Hull home run and a sacrifice fly from Kyle Richardson that Sage McMinn would score. Max Meuli and Gavin Arseneau kept the home runs coming in the third, sending pitches over the left center fence. Richardson added another RBI to his total with a single to build the lead to five.
After three unanswered runs from the Peacocks, McKendree would score eight runs. Starting in the sixth, Arseneau would push across Peyton Bittle off a sacrifice fly. Then Javy Garcia would step up and knock a two-run homer over left field to take a 9-4 lead. Hull would end the scoring in the sixth off a sacrifice fly from McMinn. In the seventh with the bases loaded, Garcia and Hull would be hit to force across two runs. After a pitching change, McMinn and Noah Shuman would be walked to once again force across two runs to end the scoring for the Bearcats.
On the mound, Trey Cole got the start and went six innings and had five strikeouts. Davis Beale, Owen Dunn and Luke Aubuchon kept Upper Iowa at bay only giving up two hits in three innings.
Game Two | Upper Iowa 17, McKendree 4
Gabe Olson (W: 2-0); Calan Kujawa (L: 1-1)
The Peacocks came back in the second game swinging totaling 17 runs off 13 hits. McKendree took an early 2-0 lead off a Meuli RBI-double and a Hull homerun at the bottom of the second. From there it was all Upper Iowa, scoring all 17 of their runs in the last five innings. During the Peacock scoring run Meuli was able to earn a walk with the bases loaded in the fifth to score a run. Later in the sixth, Shuman would sacrifice fly to get Hull home to finish off the scoring for the Bearcats.
Calan Kujawa would get the start and go 4.1 innings and add three strikeouts to his season total. The rest of the McKendree pitching staff would strike out three more in the rest of the game.
Game Three | McKendree 7, Upper Iowa 6
Adam Galdoni (W: 1-0); Cameron Powell (L: 0-1)
In the third game both pitchers would keep each other offense at a standstill, only allowing a combined four hits in the first three innings. Garcia struck first for McKendree hitting a home run in the second to take a 1-0 lead. However, after a three-run home run in the fourth and three more runs in the sixth on the Peacock side they would overtake the lead and have a 6-1.
The Bearcats proceeded to flip the offense on in their half of the sixth. Arseneau started off with a two-run shot to left to get some momentum on their side. McMinn and Shuman would follow that up with RBI-groundouts that would score two more runs. Gabe Deaver tied the game with an RBI-double going into the seventh.
With two outs at the bottom of the seventh, Garcia would blast a solo home run to left field for a walk-off home run to steal a 7-6 win over Upper Iowa.
Josh Dima went four innings and struck out 10 which he has now done in his last two starts on the mound. Beale would come in for an inning to get a strikeout in his three batters faced. Eli Dyer would not allow any hits in his inning as well. Adam Galdoni would earn the win after coming in at the top of the second inning and striking out the side to keep the game tied.
Game Four | McKendree 13, Upper Iowa 6
Rhett Detering (W: 1-1); Garrett Bougie (L: 0-1)
McKendree kept the momentum going in the final game scoring 11 runs in three innings. Deaver, Arseneau and Shuman would all hit home runs in the second to highlight the five-run inning. Meuli and Peyton Bittle would add two more runs in the fifth after taking advantage of an error.
Rhett Detering seemed unhittable in his 4.2 innings, only giving up one hit out of his 19 batters faced. He also would add six strikeouts. Hunter MacLeod, Ben Amador and Peyton Apps secured the win combining for nine strikeouts.
Next Up
McKendree will wrap up its 12-game home stand with a four-game series against the University of Indianapolis. The first game is set for March 6th at 1:00 p.m. Then there will be a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7th starting at 12:00 p.m. The series will wrap up on Sunday, March 8th at 12:00 p.m. All the games will be played at Hypes Field.
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