QUINCY, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers closed out another Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series Tuesday afternoon at John Wood Community College and came away with the doubleheader split, winning the first game 5-2 before falling in game two of the day 14-6.

VU got off to an excellent start to the day Tuesday, with sophomore leadoff hitter Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) leading off the game with a single and later coming around to score on an RBI single by sophomore Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.).

The game turned into a low scoring pitcher’s duel with VU breaking the streak of clean innings with another run in the fourth on an RBI single by freshman Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to give Vincennes a 2-0 lead.

The Blazers continued to add to their lead in the sixth after four straight singles, including an RBI single by Burdette. Burdette later scored on an error on a fielder’s choice put in play by sophomore Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.).

John Wood avoided the shutout with a pair of runs in the sixth but were unable to get much momentum offensively with the VU pitching staff holding JWCC to just four hits on the day, allowing the Blazers to pick up the 5-2 victory over John Wood.

Vincennes was led on the mound by sophomore starter Xavier Hart (Jeffersonville, Ind.) who threw five-plus innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out six batters.

Freshman Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) entered the game out of the pen and threw the final two innings, allowing just one hit and picking up the save for Vincennes.

Game two of the day did not get off to such a great start for the Trailblazers. John Wood looked to bounce back on their home field and secure the series victory with a pair of runs in the first, a run in the second and two runs in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead.

Vincennes was able to get on the board in the fifth after a leadoff walk by sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) followed by a single by Ethan Burdette, his third hit of the day and a two-RBI double by Colton Evans to cut the deficit to 5-2.

John Wood was able to get those runs back in the bottom half before the Trailblazers answered back in a big way in the sixth, with six of the first seven batters in the inning reaching base, including an RBI single by freshman Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.), a two-RBI single by Ethan Burdette and an RBI single by sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) to put VU within a run of John Wood at 7-6.

John Wood was able to answer back with a run in the bottom of the sixth, before putting the game away in the seventh with a six-run inning, including a walk-off two-run home run to give the host JWCC the 14-6 victory.

Freshman lefty Gavin Craggs (Taylorville, Ill.) got the start on the mound in game two, throwing three and one-third innings, allowing five runs on five hits and striking out three.

Freshman Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.) pitched an inning and a third out of the pen, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out one, before turning the game over to freshman Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Parnin lasted two innings, allowing five runs on three hits and striking out one.

The Trailblazers will have a short turnaround before hitting the road again this weekend to face off against Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Ill. Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23. First pitch both days is set for 1 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (17-22, 5-10) – 100   103   0 – 5

John Wood – 000    002   0 – 2

VINCENNES HITTING

RBI – Burdette, Evans, Bartlett, Hinton. HBP – Egger

GAME TWO

VU (17-23, 5-11) – 000   024   0 – 6

John Wood – 210   221   6 – 14

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Evans. RBI – Burdette 2, Evans 2, Long, Newman.

-30-

The Vincennes University baseball team improves to 17-23 on the season with a 5-11 record in MWAC Conference play.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Two-time NCAA Champion and Big Ten Swimmer of Year Brendan Burns will take advantage of his fifth year of eligibility, the Indiana swimming and diving senior announced on Wednesday (April 19).

Burns has helped the Hoosiers to back-to-back Big Ten Championships and was IU’s top scoring athlete at each of the last two NCAA Championships, where the Hoosiers placed top five nationally in consecutive seasons.

The senior is a four-time NCAA runner-up and 19-time All-American He also owns program records in the 100-yard backstroke (43.61), 200-yard backstroke (1:38.22), 200-yard butterfly (1:38.71), 200-yard medley relay (1:21.52) and 400-yard medley relay (2:59.09).

Burns was named the 2021-22 IU Male Athlete of the Year after becoming the first Hoosier since 1973 to win the NCAA 200-yard butterfly title. A year later, he won his second national title during the 2023 championships, this time in the 100-yard backstroke.

The 17-time Big Ten Champion was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships for a third-consecutive season at the 2023 meet. Burns is the only athlete to win the 200 back, 200 fly double at the Big Ten Championships and has accomplished the feat three times in his career.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville junior shortstop Simon Scherry (Santa Claus, Ind./Heritage Hills) has been named to the prestigious Brooks Wallace Award Watch List by the College Baseball Foundation.  The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation’s top shortstop in collegiate baseball.

A group of 101 of the most talented shortstops in Division I college baseball were named to the initial 2023 Brooks Wallace Award watch list late Tuesday night.  The award honors the nation’s top shortstop and is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played from the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980, before passing away from leukemia at the age of 27.

Scherry is one of four Missouri Valley Conference shortstops to make the initial watch list, joining Randal Diaz of Indiana State, Nick Rodriguez of Missouri State, and Southern Illinois’ Kaeber Rog.  Scherry currently has the best fielding percentage among starting shortstops in the Missouri Valley Conference with a .981 mark.  He has committed the fewest errors of any starting shortstop who has started 30 games or more this year, having committed just three errors.  He also ranks second in the Valley in defensive assists with 114, and has posted the highest single-game assist total in Division I baseball this year with 11 assists against Belmont on April 2.

Offensively, Scherry is batting .291 with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs and 18 RBI for Evansville.  He has also posted a .408 on-base percentage this year, as he ranks among the nation’s top 130 players with 27 walks so far this season.  Scherry is also a perfect seven-for-seven in the stolen base department.

Evansville will return to the diamond this weekend, as the Purple Aces will travel to Murray, Kentucky to take on the Murray State Racers in a key Missouri Valley Conference series.  UE will bring a 21-15 overall record into this weekend’s series after posting a 10-8 win over Western Kentucky on Tuesday night.  This weekend’s series is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday night, and all three games of the series can be heard live in Evansville on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.  Friday night’s series-opener is also available on ESPN+.