Trailblazers drop Conference opener at John Wood Community College

QUINCY, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team hit the road this weekend for their first Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series of the season at John Wood Community College in Quincy, Ill.

The Trailblazers got off to a hot start in game one but dropped both games on the day by the final score of 6-5 and 13-0 in game two.

VU opened the day in game one of the day, getting on the board in the third inning after lead off singles by sophomores Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) and Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.).

Gross came in to score the first VU run of the game on a wild pitch and Douglas scoring later in the inning on an RBI single by freshman Evan Doran (Indianapolis, Ind.) to put the Trailblazers on top 2-0.

Vincennes would add more to their lead in the fourth inning after sophomore Brody Fessel (DePauw, Ind.) reached on a single, followed by another single by Bradyn Douglas, his second of three hits in the game.

Fessel and Douglas would successfully execute a double steal, with Fessel scoring on a throwing error by John Wood.

Douglas would score his second run of the game on an RBI single by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.) to give the Trailblazers a 4-0 advantage.

VU looked to be in control in the sixth after a double by Bryce Gross and an RBI single by Bradyn Douglas put the Trailblazers up 5-0 going to the back end of the ball game.

John Wood would answer back however, building momentum late with three runs in the sixth, two more runs in the seventh to even the game at 5-5 before taking the lead with a run in the eighth to grab their first lead of the day at 6-5.

Vincennes looked to respond in the top of the ninth and try to extend the game, using walks by sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.), freshman Jaret Phillips (Jeffersonville, Ind.) and sophomore Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) being hit by pitch to load the bases.

VU unfortunately could not capitalize and were unable to push a run across as John Wood closed out game one 6-5.

Sophomore Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers in game one, throwing six and one-third innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits and three strikeouts.

Freshman Jacob Allen (Vincennes, Ind.) pitched one and two-thirds innings of relief for the Trailblazers Sunday, allowing one run on two hits and striking out one.

The Trailblazers looked to rebound and finish the day with a split in game two but unfortunately John Wood was able to carry their late momentum from game one over to the second game.

John Wood opened the scoring with three runs in the first, added three more in the third and took control of the game with a big seven run fourth inning.

VU was able to get some action on the bases in game two, getting a runner in scoring position in three of the five innings, including getting the bases loaded in the fifth but were unable to get a run across in game two.

John Wood closed out the day strong in game two as the Trailblazers fell 13-0 to close out the first day of this MWAC Conference series.

Sophomore JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) got the start in game two for the Trailblazers, throwing three innings, allowing six runs, two earned on three hits and four strikeouts.

Sophomore Colton Okes (Evansville, Ind.) was the first out of the bullpen for VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney, throwing two-thirds of an inning, allowing seven runs, four earned on six hits and striking out one.

Freshman Kory Kingsbury (Evansville, Ind.) came on to get the final out of the fourth inning, allowing two hits in one-third of an inning of work.

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back and close out the four-game series strong when VU returns to the field tomorrow, Monday, March 10 for the final two games of this MWAC Conference series.

Game one tomorrow is set to begin at 1 p.m. eastern, with the series finale scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after game one.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (8-6, 0-1) – 002   201   000 – 5

John Wood – 000   003   21x – 6

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Gross. RBI – Douglas, Andrews, Doran. HBP – Edlin. SB – Miller 2, Douglas, Fessel, Andrews, Edlin.

GAME TWO

VU (8-7, 0-2) – 000   00 – 0

John Wood – 303   7x – 13

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Douglas, HBP – Napier. SB – Gross.