LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree baseball (21-25, 13-15 GLVC) took the first two games off Lewis (21-24, 13-13 GLVC) to split the last home series at Hypes Field this past weekend.
Game One | McKendree 11, Lewis 8
Trey Cole (W: 6-5), Jackson Bruno (L: 3-2)
In the first game, both teams got scoring early, putting up a combined 12 runs in the first four innings. Max Meuli got the first run on the board with an RBI double that was enough to send Peyton Bittle home. The flyers would respond with two runs of their own to take the 2-1 lead.
However, a Quest Hull solo home run and a two RBI triple from Gabe Deaver quickly took back the lead in the home half of the second inning. After one more run from Lewis, the Bearcat bats exploded in the fourth with Deaver hitting a three-run shot to right center. Javy Garcia and Sage McMinn followed that up with solo home runs of their own for a five-run inning. After a few scoreless innings, Garcia would hit his second home run of the game to close the door on the Flyers. Gavin Arseneau would also have a nice game going 2-4 with two singles.
Starting on the mound was Trey Cole. He would go seven innings and earn five strikeouts. Luke Aubuchon would relive him for an inning and strike out two batters. Adam Galdoni would keep Lewis at bay for the last inning earning a strikeout and not giving up any hits.
Game Two | McKendree 5, Lewis 4
Calan Kujawa (W: 3-3), Ben Catrambone (L: 3-2), Save: Owen Dunn (4)
In the first game of the doubleheader, it was a closely contested game with both starting pitchers keeping the hit counts low.
Lewis would take a lead in the second with a two RBI single. It would be short lived when Deaver and Garcia homered in the to tie the game in the fourth. Later in the inning, Hull would get a two-RBI double to take the lead.
After the Flyers tied the game back up in the sixth, Hull would blast another home run over the right center wall which would prove to be the game's winning run for the Bearcats.
Josh Dima would start the game and go for four innings and record seven strikeouts. Calan Kujawa would be credited with the win after coming in for relief. He would go for two innings and get one strikeout. Owen Dunn finished the game in the seventh to close out the game.
Game Three | Lewis 18, McKendree 9
Vince Gohlke (W: 3-6), Ben Amador (L: 0-1)
The third game would be all Flyers after a huge 11 run inning in the third. However, the Bearcats didn't give up getting eight runs in the last three innings to try to make the comeback.
Offensively, Bittle would lead the team going 4-5 with an RBI single. Deaver would be right behind him going 3-5 with three RBIs. Meuli and Garcia ended with two hits each, and Garcia would have an RBI. Also getting an RBI would be Adam Galdoni making his hitting debut this season. He blasted a pitch to right center to double and brought in Garcia. Mark Wagner and McMinn would also have an RBI in the game. Brennen Vechazone would also earn a hit.
The McKendree pitching staff would combine for seven strikeouts in the game.
Game Four | Lewis 6, McKendree 11
Collin Amsden (W: 1-1), Eli Dyer (L: 0-3)
The last game of the series would be senior day for the team graduating 20 seniors this year.
At the end of the third the game would be tied 5-5 trading runs and either team not letting them get a big lead. Meuli would open the scoring for the Bearcats with a solo home run in the first. Sherman, Arseneau and Deaver would come up in the second all earning RBI hits to retake the lead. After six runs in two innings from Lewis, they would shut down the McKendree offense only allowing one run the rest of the game. That would come from a McMinn double to bring in Deaver.
Pitching for the Bearcats would be Rhett Detering who went two innings and struck out two. Aubuchon would relive him and only allowed one hit. Eli Dyer would relvie him and get credited with the loss. Kujawa, Galdoni, Dunn and Peyton Apps would all come in as well throughout the game and combine for four strikeouts.
Next Up
McKendree will play the final regular season games this next weekend against the University of Illinois Springfield. The first game will be Thursday, April 30th at 6:00 p.m. and will be played at Robert Robins Stadium in Springfield. The next two games will be a doubleheader at the UIS Baseball Field on Friday, May 1st with the first pitch starting at 1:00 p.m. The final game of the series will be Saturday, May 2nd at 12:00 p.m.
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