Bartlett walks it off as Trailblazers split Sunday doubleheader

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team picked up a big bounce back win Sunday afternoon at Jerry Blemker Field, rallying back from down 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh to score six runs in the inning and pick up the walk-off 7-6 win over Lincoln Trail College.

The Blazers then turned around for the night game of the Sunday doubleheader and fell to the NJCAA Division I No. 10-ranked Wabash Valley Warriors by the score of 16-5.

The day got off to a great start for the Blazers at Jerry Blemker Field. After a clean top of the first by freshman starting pitcher Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.), the Blazers led off the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back walks by sophomore Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) and Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.).

Both would move up a base on a wild pitch, with Burdette coming around to score on a ground out to give VU the early 1-0 lead.

Lincoln Trail would immediately get this run back in the second to even the score before the two teams traded zeros on the scoreboard until the top of the fifth.

The Statesmen grabbed the lead in the fifth on a two-run home run and extended their lead in the sixth on another two-run home run.

Lincoln Trail would add an insurance run in the seventh to take a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Looking for a miracle in the seventh, VU was helped out by a lead-off four-pitch walk by freshman Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

Parnin would later be driven in on an RBI single by sophomore Mahkai Pelzer (Douglasville, Ga.), who would later score on a fielding error on a ball put in play by Ethan Burdette.

Burdette himself would score on an RBI single by Kaden Elliott, who scored after Colton Evans was hit by a pitch on an RBI single by freshman Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.) to cut the Statesmen lead to just one.

VU would walk it off on a two-RBI double by sophomore Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.), giving the Blazers the win over an NJCAA Division I opponent in Lincoln Trail by the final score of 7-6.

Josh McCormick got the start on the mound for the Blazers in game one of the day, throwing four and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on two hits and striking out three.

Sophomore Caleb Moore (St. Louis, Mo.) was the first out of the pen, throwing one and one-third innings, allowing two runs on two hits.

Freshmen Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) and Keegan Schlotterbeck (Centerville, Ind.) entered to pitch the seventh, with Pinson allowing one run on two hits and Schlotterbeck getting the only batter he faced to ground into a double play on the first pitch.

The Trailblazers looked to continue this celebration into their next game when VU closed out the night at Jerry Blemker Field by taking on NJCAA Division I No. 10-ranked Wabash Valley.

VU got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning after sophomore Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) reached base on a dropped third strike and came around to score on an RBI double by Brandon Juarez.

Wabash Valley would answer in the second to even the game at 1-1 and take the lead in the third with a three-run inning to grab an early 4-1 lead.

The Trailblazers would answer back in the bottom of the third after the first four VU batters in the inning reached base, including a single by Kaden Elliott who would come around to score along with Colton Evans on a two-RBI single by freshman Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.).

Vincennes would regain the lead over the Warriors in the fourth inning after a lead-off single by sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) and a single by Ethan Burdette, the pair would score on a two-RBI double by Kaden Elliott to give the Blazers the 5-4 lead.

This would be where the fun for the Blazers would end however, as the Warriors responded in a big way with a monster 10 run inning in the fifth, sending 14 batters to the plate.

Wabash Valley would tack on two more runs in the sixth, as VU was unable to answer back and the Warriors closed out the 16-5 win over the Trailblazers.

Sophomore Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) got the start on the mound for VU in the second game of the day, throwing two and one-third innings, allowing three runs on no hits and striking out one.

Freshman Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.) was the first out of the pen for Vincennes, throwing one and two-thirds innings of relief, allowing two runs on one hit and striking out two.

The Blazers sent five pitchers to the mound in the fifth inning, with freshman Aaron Fenn (Fort Wayne, Ind.) able to come in and grab the third out of the inning. Fenn would also record the first two outs of the sixth inning in his one total inning of work, allowing two runs on one hit and striking out one.

Sophomore Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) closed out the sixth inning, allowing a single and getting the next batter to ground out.

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back from this second game performance and hopefully regain some of the momentum from game one of the day when VU returns to Jerry Blemker Field Tuesday, March 7 to take host Oakland City University JV. First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Lincoln Trail – 010    022   1 – 6

VU (5-9) – 100   000   6 – 7

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Bartlett. RBI – Elliott, Juarez 2, Bartlett 2, Pelzer. HBP – Evans.

GAME TWO

Wabash Valley – 013   0(10)2 – 16

VU (5-10) – 102   200 – 5

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Juarez, Elliott. RBI – Elliott 2, Juarez, Whitehead 2. SB – Evans, Juarez.