Trailblazers split road doubleheader at Southwestern Illinois College

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team picked up another big win over an NJCAA Division I program Wednesday morning when the Blazers split their mid-week doubleheader at Southwestern Illinois College.

Vincennes opened the doubleheader by taking game one by the final score of 2-0 before dropping game two to the Blue Storm 11-0.

The Trailblazers opened the doubleheader with a hard fought pitcher's duel in game one, with neither team able to break onto the scoreboard in the first four innings of the game.

VU was able to get base runners early in the game, getting runners in scoring position in the first and third but were unable to get a run across until the fifth.

Vincennes took advantage of sophomore Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) being hit by pitch early in the fifth inning, followed by a single by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.) and a walk by sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) to load the bases with one out.

Freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.) broke the scoreless tie with a sacrifice fly to score Douglas from third and give the Blazers the 1-0 advantage.

VU added to their lead in the sixth with sophomore Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) leading off the inning with a walk, advancing on a successful sacrifice bunt by freshman Evan Doran (Indianapolis, Ind.).

Edlin would then move up to third with a stolen base and come in to score on an RBI groundout by freshman Cole Trevino (Jasper, Ind.) to increase the VU lead to 2-0.

The VU pitching staff would hold onto this lead as the Blazers were able to keep the Blue Storm off the scoreboard and pick up the 2-0 shutout victory over Southwestern Illinois College.

Sophomore Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) got the start in game one for the Blazers, throwing three innings, allowing two hits and striking out four.

Freshman Wyatt Burris (Farmland, Ind.) was the first out of the bullpen for VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney, throwing three innings, allowing one hit and striking out one to pick up the winning decision.

Freshman Jakob Hoyer (Georgetown, Ind.) came in in the seventh inning, getting the final three outs on just 12 pitches as he comes away with the save.

The Blazers looked to keep the momentum going in game two of the day but were unable to keep the offense going.

Southwestern Illinois was the first to break onto the scoreboard in game two, scoring four runs in the third inning and breaking away with seven runs in the fourth.

Vincennes was able get a base runner in the fifth inning but were unable to push a run across to keep the game going as Southwestern Illinois College picked up the 11-0 victory.

Sophomore JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) got the start in game two for the Blazers, throwing three innings, allowing four runs on four hits and striking out three.

Freshman Kory Kingsbury (Evansville, Ind.) entered the game in the fourth, allowing four runs on three hits in one-third of an inning on the mound.

Sophomore Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) came in to close out the fourth inning, allowing three unearned runs on two hits and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back and get back in the win column when the Blazers return to Jerry Blemker Field Sunday, April 6 for another doubleheader against Southwestern Illinois College.

VU will take on the Blue Storm with first pitch set at 1 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (16-17, 6-10) – 000   011   0 – 2

Southwestern Illinois – 000   000   0 – 0

VINCENNES HITTING

RBI – Gricius, Trevino. HBP – Douglas. Sac Fly – Gricius. SB – Douglas 2, Andrews, Montgomery, Edlin. Sac Bunt – Doran.

GAME TWO

VU (16-18, 6-10) – 000   00 – 0

Southwestern Illinois – 004   7x – 11

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Burris.