CARTERVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team has opened their 2024 regular season with six straight games against NJCAA Division I opponents including Monday's doubleheader vs. South Suburban College from South Holland, Ill.
The doubleheader was originally scheduled to take place at VU's Jerry Blemker Field, but was moved to John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill. Saturday morning due to the snow in Vincennes on Friday.
The Trailblazer bats took a little bit to get going and VU ultimately dropped the doubleheader to the Bulldogs 10-0 and 9-4.
Vincennes got off to a slow start offensively, with a first inning walk by redshirt freshman Holden Clifton (Louisville, Ill.) and a hit by pitch by sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.) being the only VU action on the base paths until the fifth inning.
South Suburban got on the board first in a big way in the third inning, scoring five runs before adding five more runs in the fourth to take a 10-0 lead over the Blazers.
VU looked to get some action going offensively in the fifth and drew back to back walks by freshman Jaydon Bradbury (Terre Haute, Ind.) and sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) but were unable to push a run across and extend the game as the Bulldogs took game one of the day 10-0 over Vincennes.
Freshman Kaleb Marrs (Terre Haute, Ind.) got his first collegiate start on the mound and looked to be rolling early, retiring the first three batters in order and striking out the first batter he faced.
Marrs would last two and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs on four hits and striking out five.
Freshman Alex Wandersee (Centerville, Ind.) was the first out of the bullpen for the Trailblazers, throwing an inning of work, allowing five runs on four hits and striking out one.
Freshman Colten Okes (Evansville, Ind.) entered to get the final out of the fourth inning, retiring the only batter he faced on just three pitches.
The Trailblazers looked to bounce back quickly in game two but quickly fell behind after the Bulldogs plated a run in the first and one in the third to take an early 2-0 lead.
South Suburban looked to gain full control of the game in the fourth, putting together another five run inning to extend the lead to 7-0.
VU would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth however, following a leadoff walk by freshman Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) and a single by sophomore Bryan Kohlmeyer (Paris, Ill.).
Montgomery later scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 7-1.
The Bulldogs answered back in the fifth with a pair of runs, which the Blazers got back in the sixth after four singles by Montgomery, sophomores Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.) and freshman Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.).
Juarez and Napier's being RBI singles by driving in Montgomery and Newman to cut the Bulldog lead to 9-3.
The Trailblazers looked to see if they could put together some late inning magic and got off to a great start in the seventh with a leadoff double by freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.), followed by an RBI single by Jack Robinson.
The VU offense stalled however after a single by sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) as Vincennes dropped game two to South Suburban 9-4.
Sophomore Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the start in game two, throwing three and one-third innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and striking out four.
Sophomore Max Lines (Indianapolis, Ind.) came out of the bullpen to throw an inning and one-third, allowing two runs on one hit and striking out one.
Freshman JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) also threw an inning and one-third, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Freshmen Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.), Noah Dearmitt (Franklin, Ind.) and sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) then combined to strike out the side in the seventh inning, Edlin's and Parnin's strikeouts coming on just four pitches.
The Trailblazers will have another opportunity to bounce back this coming weekend when VU returns to Jerry Blemker Field for a busy weekend of baseball in Vincennes.
VU will begin the weekend by taking on Morton College from Cicero, Ill. Friday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. eastern.
The Trailblazers will then return to Jerry Blemker Field Saturday, Feb. 24 for a split doubleheader against Olney Central College at 1:30 p.m. and NJCAA Division III No. 7-ranked Joliet Junior College at 6:30 p.m. eastern.
The weekend will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 25 with the Trailblazers taking on an opponent to be determined at 1:30 p.m. eastern.
Scheduled dates and times for all VU baseball games are subject to change. Be sure to follow 'Vincennes University Athletics' on Facebook, X, or Instagram to stay up to date on any and all VU baseball schedule changes.
BOX SCORE
GAME ONE
VU (1-4) – 000 00 – 0
South Suburban – 005 5x – 10
VINCENNES HITTING
BB – Clifton, Bradbury, Robinson. HBP – Heyerly.
GAME TWO
South Suburban – 101 520 0 – 9
VU (1-5) – 000 102 1 – 4
VINCENNES HITTING
2B – Douglas. RBI – Robinson, Juarez, Napier. HBP – Robinson.