LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree baseball (12-18, 4-8 GLVC) hosted a non-conference series with the Roosevelt Lakers (9-18, 0-4 GLIAC) where they ended up splitting the series at Hypes Field this past weekend
Game One | McKendree 9, Roosevelt 0
Trey Cole (W: 3-4), Kaden Foran (L: 0-2)
Trey Cole had a great showing on the mound, keeping the Lakers off the score board in his seven innings, only allowing three hits and punching out three out of the 26 batters he saw. Ben Amador came in for relief pitching only one inning allowing only one hit and striking out one as well. Joe Jarecki finished the last inning and completed the shutout.
Offensively, Gabe Deaver and Sage McMinn led the team in hits with two each and combining for three RBIs. Quest Hull led the team with three RBIs with a three-run homer in the seventh. Peyton Bittle stole three bases in the game to raise his season total to 18. Noah Shuman, Hunter Sherman, Max Meuli and Bittle each notched a hit to add to the total.
Game Two | McKendree 4, Roosevelt 3
Luke Aubuchon (W:1-0), Jace Dominic (L:1-4), Owen Dunn (Save: 2)
In the second game, it was a back-and-forth defensive battle, as both teams only allowed four hits each.
Meuli got the scoring started in the first with a sacrifice fly to center field where Bittle came across to score. Roosevelt answered in the second with a two-run home run to take back the lead. After a scoreless third and fourth inning, the Lakers scored another run to make the score 3-1 going into the Bearcat half of the inning. Deaver secured a two-RBI single to tie the game.
In the following inning, Kyle Richardson flew out to deep left field where McMinn would tag up and score which would prove to be the winning run.
Pitching for the Bearcats, Josh Dima got the start and went 3.2 innings, only giving up one hit and striking out four batters. Luke Aubuchon was accredited with the win going 2.1 innings, only allowing two hits and not giving up any free bases. Owen Dunn earned his second save on the season, closing out the seventh with two strikeouts.
Game Three | Roosevelt 7, McKendree 3
Liam Neely (W:3-2), Calan Kujawa (L:2-3)
Once again in the third game, McKendree jumped out to a lead in the first inning, getting across two off the bats of Deaver and Javy Garcia. Unfortunately, Roosevelt would answer by scoring six unanswered runs to get in front. McMinn would get one back for the Bearcats, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
Offensively, Bittle led the team with two hits and with both hits being doubles. Sherman and Shuman both added a hit as well.
On the mound, Calan Kujawa went 4.1 innings striking out seven foes. Adam Galdoni and Davis Beale came in for relief while Ben Amador finished the game in the seventh.
Game Four | Roosevelt 16, McKendree 14
Aramis Salmeron (W:2-2), Eli Dyer (L:0-2)
The last game of the series saw plenty of offense with 26 hits, eight of them being home runs, and a total of 30 runs from both teams.
Meuli led the team going 4-6 with four RBIs, two doubles and a home run. Deaver went 3-5 with a solo home run and two singles. Garcia and Bittle each had two hits with one of them being a home run in their five at-bats. Mark Wagner collected a hit with his time at the plate as well.
Starting on the bump for McKendree was Jorden Eaton where he went two innings and only allowed one hit and earned one strikeout. Hunter MacLeod went in for the third inning where he struck out two and gave up one hit. Eli Dyer, Parker Johnson and Cameron Pidcock would all come to close out the fourth. Jarecki would go three innings and collect one strikeout. Peyton Apps would close out the last two innings not giving up any hits and striking out three batters.
Next Up
McKendree will be back on the road for a four-game conference series against Quincy University at the QU Stadium. The first game will be Thursday, April 2nd at 2:00 p.m. The second and third game will be Friday, April 3rd for two seven inning games starting at 12:00 p.m. The final game will be Saturday, April 4th with a game at 12:00 p.m.
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