Hinton’s grand slam gives Blazers road win at Olney Central

OLNEY, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team put a rough weekend behind them Wednesday after picking up a big road win at Olney Central College by the final score 12-6.

VU freshman Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) hit a big grand slam in the eighth inning to extend the VU lead as the Blazers came away with the win against an NJCAA Division I opponent.

The Blazers got on the board early at Olney Central, scoring in the second on an RBI single by freshman Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.).

The Blue Knights would answer back on their home field with a big two-out rally to score five runs in the fourth.

Vincennes immediately answered back with a five-run inning of their own in the fifth, aided by a three-run error put in play by sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.), followed by a two-run, pinch hit home run by sophomore Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.), his seventh of the season.

Olney Central evened the score in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 6-6 ball game.

VU would hold their own and finally break the tie in the eighth inning after Colton Evans led off the inning with a single and later scored on a throwing error on a ball put in play by sophomore Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio).

The Trailblazers would break the game open later in the eighth with a grand slam by Kade Hinton, his second home run of the season.

VU would add an insurance run in the ninth after a leadoff single by sophomore Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.).

Burdette would come around to score on a bases loaded walk by Jack Robinson, giving him two RBIs on the day.

Olney Central would try to battle back in the bottom half after getting a pair of runners on base but were unable to push a run across as Vincennes came away with the 12-6 victory over the Blue Knights.

"We got some timely hitting today," VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. "Timely hitting, good defense, it all comes into play and it was a good ball game by our guys all the way around. We also had a lot of different guys contribute today, which was really good."

VU was led off on the mound by sophomore Xavier Hart (Jeffersonville, Ind.) who picked up his first start of the season and threw three and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs on four hits and striking out seven.

Freshman Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) entered from the pen and ended up picking up his first winning decision of his collegiate career, throwing five inning of shutout baseball, allowing one hit and striking out six.

"Today, obviously, started for us on the bump," Barney said. "Xavier Hart gave us a good outing for three innings, then struggled a little in the fourth when he got an error. But for a guy who is making his first start of the year, that's pretty good."

"Then with what Christian Pinson did, finishing out the game, throwing five innings for us was really good," Barney added. "Hart and Pinson have done it for us this year and they continued to get it done today. For his first start of the season, Hart was really good and Christian really has some confidence out there right now. He's thrown really well his last two outings, including up at Illinois Central."

"We're excited about it and hopefully we can start putting some quality starts together in back-to-back games and get something started tomorrow," Barney said.

The Trailblazers will look to continue this momentum tomorrow when VU faces off against another NJCAA Division I opponent in Frontier Community College Thursday, March 30. First pitch tomorrow in Fairfield is set for 6 p.m. eastern.

This game is the first half of a two-game home-and-home series with the Bobcats, with the second game set for Friday, March 31 at 12 p.m. eastern at Jerry Blemker Field.

"The big thing about the win today is that it builds confidence," Barney said. "We have to feel good about ourselves, especially after a tough weekend. We've got Aaron Fenn running out there for us tomorrow. We know he'll throw strikes and give us a chance."

"It's another tough road game against a Division I opponent, who has been having some success this year," Barney added. "Hopefully we can keep it rolling and continue to hit. Play good defense and come up with some timely hitting and have another good day tomorrow."

BOX SCORE

VU (15-15, 4-4) – 010   050   051 – 12

Olney Central – 000   510   000 – 6

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Egger. HR – Evans, Hinton. RBI – Hinton 4, Evans 2, Robinson 2, Coy. HBP – Breneman, Robinson, Whitehead, Egger. SB – Burdette.