Late comeback falls short as Trailblazers drop doubleheader to No. 12 Parkland

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers continued their Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) season with Friday's doubleheader against No. 12-ranked Parkland at Jerry Blemker Field. The Cobras came away with the two-game sweep winning 5-4 and 11-0.

Parkland struck first in game one, scoring a run in the first, then adding a pair of runs in the fifth and a run in the seventh to hold a 4-0 lead.

Parkland's lead continued to grow in the eighth to 5-0.

The Trailblazers looked to put together a rally in the bottom of the eighth when Devon Rodgers reached on a two-out error.

Brody Ruggles pinch hit and drew a walk, which was followed by another error allowed Rodgers to score.

Isaac Lane and Macaine Claycomb were each hit by pitches, which cut the deficit to three runs. Then a Nate McVaigh walk and Isaac Lane hit by pitch put the Blazers within one run of Parkland.

"We were able to capitalize on their mistakes and continued to build off that," VU baseball coach Chris Barney said. "That's what you need to do and that's what good teams do."

Vincennes continued to rally in the ninth, getting the tying run in scoring position with one out but were unable to bring the runner home as Parkland took the game one win 5-4.

Gehrig Tenhumberg got the start on the mound in game one and lasted six and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on six hits and punching out eight.

Luke Osborn pitched in relief and threw the final two and a third innings, giving up one run on one hit, with two strikeouts.

"Give Gehrig and Luke a lot of credit," Barney added. "They held a really good club to five runs and four were unearned. We had a chance to do some damage in game one and really put them on the defensive a little bit but unfortunately came up a run short."

The Trailblazers began game two already shorthanded as Peyton Lane suffered an elbow injury after being hit by a pitch in game one.

The injuries did not stop there however, as Cooper Thacker was hit in the arm by a comebacker off the bat of the first batter of game two and had to leave the game, five pitches in.

Braedon Nichols took over on the mound threw two innings, giving up two runs on four hits.

Parkland scored two runs in the first and blew the game open with a seven-run third inning.

The Cobras continued to add to the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth as Parkland finished off the second game of the day 11-0 in five innings.

"We battled, we battled in game one and kind of got the air sucked out of us in game two when our three-hole hitter is out after being hit in his last at-bat of game one and then our starting pitcher gets knocked out after the first hitter because he takes a shot off the elbow. This was a tough day; we've got to bounce back on Sunday and find a way to salvage a win or two and figure it out as best we can."

The series now shifts to Champaign for the final two games of the four-game set Sunday, May 2. First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 2 p.m. eastern.

"We've got to get a lot more out of our starting pitching. We've got VanLannen going in game one and Steimel in game two, so that gives us a good chance there. Obviously, we have to get the bats going, it's going to be a tough haul, Parkland is going to run their number one starter at their place and he's pretty good. So, it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out Sunday and we'll go from there. We've got to play better defense and come up with some timely hitting."

Parkland 1 0 0   0 2 0   1 1 0 – 5 7 3

VU (17-24)  0 0 0   0 0 0   0 4 0 – 4 2 2

VINCENNES HITTING

1B – Trent Weiss, Macaine Claycomb. RBI – Macaine Claycomb, Nate McVaigh, Isaac Lane. Run – Brody Ruggles, Devon Rodgers, Trent Weiss, Gage Wilson.

Parkland 2 0 7  1 1 – 11 11 0

VU (17-25)  0 0 0  0 0 – 0 1 2

VINCENNES HITTING

1B – Trent Weiss.