Big inning dooms Trailblazers in home opener against Frontier C.C.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team opened Jerry Blemker Field for the first time during this Spring 2024 season Thursday afternoon for a single nine-inning contest against Frontier Community College from Fairfield, Ill.

The Trailblazers looked to be rolling early before a big six run fifth inning by the Bobcats completely shifted momentum.

VU fought hard throughout but were unable to regain the lead as Frontier came away with the 8-7 victory.

The starting pitchers were dealing early Thursday afternoon, with VU being the first ones to break onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the third after a leadoff double by sophomore Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.) followed by a walk by freshman Brody Fessel (DePauw, Ind.) was followed by a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) which resulted in a throwing error allowing Whitehead to score the first run of the game.

Jack Robinson had an outstanding game at the plate, reaching base in all five plate appearances Thursday afternoon, including a pair of doubles.

Fessel would later come around to score on a wild pitch to give the Trailblazers an early 2-0 lead.

VU would add to the lead in the fourth after a double by sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) who would score on an RBI groundout by Whitehead giving VU a 3-0 advantage.

Frontier answered back in a big way in the top of the fifth, having the first seven batters of the inning reach base safely and scoring six runs in the inning to take a 6-3 lead.

Vincennes would then answer back to even the score after a bases loaded walk by redshirt freshman Holden Clifton (Louisville, Ill.) and an RBI single by Jace Parnin, followed by sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) scoring on a wild pitch to even the game at 6-6.

Frontier would regain the lead with a run in the sixth and an insurance run in the seventh before VU cut into the deficit with a run in the bottom of the eighth by executing a double steal, allowing freshman Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) to score.

This would be as close as the Blazers would get unfortunately as VU left the winning run on first in the ninth as Frontier closed out the 8-7 victory over VU.

"Frontier had the timely hitting today and we didn't," VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. "Unfortunately we couldn't put the hits together back-to-back. We had one inning where we did that but the other eight innings, it was sporadic. Jack Robinson had a great day for us going three for three with two doubles and some other guys stepped up with some big RBIs. Other guys came off the bench and executed, got on base and did what they were supposed to."

"We've just got to come up with bigger hits," Barney added. "To out hit Frontier today like we did and end up losing 8-7 is disappointing. We've got to come up with big hits in key situations and make plays defensively. Those are the differences in the game."

Sophomore Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.) got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers Thursday and was rolling early, finishing four and one-third innings, allowing six runs, three earned, on two hits and striking out seven.

Freshman Alex Wandersee (Centerville, Ind.) entered to finish out the fifth inning, allowing one hit in two-thirds of an inning.

Sophomore Jace Parnin pitched an inning plus, while also starting the game at second base and later finishing the game at shortstop. Parnin allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one on the mound.

Freshman Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) pitched two innings, allowing two hits and striking out one.

Sophomore Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) began the ninth inning on the mound, getting the first guy he faced to fly out before turning it over to freshman Noah Dearmitt (Franklin, Ind.) who closed out the final two-thirds of the ninth inning.

"Logan Medsker threw really well for four innings," Barney said. "So that's a positive. The bad news is he got to the fifth and walked two guys, then we couldn't make a play defensively and then we hit a guy with the bases loaded. We ended up giving up six runs on two hits in the inning total."

"The bullpen did a decent job," Barney added. "They kept them where we needed them to, we just didn't step up with the clutch hits."

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back as their busy weekend slate of games continues when VU heads back out to Jerry Blemker Field Saturday, Feb. 17 to take on Ancilla College from Donaldson, Ind., first pitch Saturday is set for 2 p.m. eastern.

VU will then close out the extended weekend with a doubleheader showdown with South Suburban College Monday, Feb. 19. First pitch for game one is set for 1 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.

"We've just got to find our way," Barney said. "We've got to put up some 'W's and play well. That's what I'm hoping for. We're giving some guys opportunities to play and show what they can do for us. We've got to become clutch hitters in key situations when we can really put the game out of reach and not let things snowball like they did in the fifth inning."

BOX SCORE

Frontier – 000   061   100 – 8

VU (1-3) – 002   130   010 – 7

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Robinson 2, Whitehead, Parnin. RBI – Clifton, Parnin, Whitehead. SB – Douglas, Gross, Johnson. IBB – Robinson.