CANTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team finished their four-game road Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series at Spoon River Monday.

The day began by finishing the final two innings of game two yesterday, which was suspended due to darkness. Vincennes finished off the 18-10 win.

Vincennes also won game three of the series 10-7 after riding a big first inning.

Host Spoon River finished off the series with a walk-off win in game four, winning 12-11 over the Trailblazers.

Game two of the series began Sunday afternoon and Vincennes took the early lead after scoring three runs in the second on RBI doubles by freshmen Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.) and Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.).

Spoon River looked to take full control of the game in the bottom half of the inning, scoring eight runs to take an 8-3 lead.

The Trailblazers began their comeback the next inning as Kaden Elliott hit another RBI double and was immediately followed by a two-RBI single by sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.), cutting the deficit to two runs.

Vincennes took the lead in the fourth after freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) hit a three-run home run, which began a seven-run inning for the Blazers as VU took a 13-8 lead.

After the two teams traded runs in the fifth, the game was suspended due to darkness, to be resumed Monday morning.

Vincennes picked up where they left off Monday morning, with sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) hitting an RBI double and Kaden Elliott hitting an RBI single as VU took a 17-9 lead.

VU would add another run in the seventh with sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.) driving in Colton Evans, as Evans scored his fifth run of the game.

Vincennes came away with the 18-10 win to take the 2 – 0 series lead.

Sophomore Kestler Harbuck (Brooksville, Fla.) got the start in game two and surrendered eight runs on eight hits in 1.2 innings. Harbuck did record four strikeouts in the game as well.

Freshman Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.) was first out of the bullpen, throwing 3.1 innings and allowing one run on four hits while striking out one.

Sophomore Braedon Nichols (Sullivan, Ind.) took the mound when the game resumed Monday and threw the final two innings. Nichols allowed one run on three hits.

“Colton and Kaden got it done all day,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “Those two were really consistent in all three of the games today. It was a long day, we started around noon and the games didn’t end until just before eight, so that’s eight hours on the field not counting the two hours of prep work before getting to the field.”

Vincennes continued this momentum into game three of the series as the Trailblazers opened the game by scoring seven runs in the top of the first.

The Trailblazers got RBI singles by Connor VanLannen and Dale Coy, followed by a two RBI single by Mahkai Pelzer (Douglasville, Ga.) and an RBI double by Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.).

Spoon River battled back to seven the score in the third inning after scoring two runs in the first, three in the second and two in the third inning.

VU broke the tie in the fifth with another two RBI single by Mahkai Pelzer, giving the Blazers a 10-7 lead over the host Snappers.

The Vincennes bullpen closed out the game and held on to the three-run lead by the Trailblazers, giving VU the win and a 3 – 0 series lead.

Freshman Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) got the start in game three, allowing five runs on five hits in 1.2 innings, while striking out one.

Freshman Konner Thyen (Huntingburg, Ind.) and sophomore Luke Osborn (Perryville, Ind.) finished out the game from the pen, combining to throw 4.2 innings, allowing no runs and three hits, with the pair each striking out one batter.

“Konner Thyen came in in a tough situation and gave us two-plus innings,” Barney said. “He did a really great job. He commanded the zone and worked ahead of hitters and forced them to put the ball in play.”

“Then Luke Osborn comes in and pitches the final two innings for his third save of the year and second save of the weekend. So credit to them and credit to Luke for coming in and doing it on back-to-back days,” Barney added. “The same goes for Braedon Nichols coming in in game two and giving us two innings to close out that game this morning.”

Vincennes again took the early lead in game four, scoring two runs in the first on a two RBI single by Dale Coy.

Spoon River took the lead with one run in the first, two in the second, three in the third and four runs in the fourth to take a 10-3 lead over the Blazers.

Vincennes began their comeback in the sixth, with another two RBI single by Dale Coy, which started a four-run inning to cut the deficit to three runs.

VU used a two RBI double by Peyton Lane in the seventh to get within a run of Spoon River.

The Snappers added a run in the eighth before Colton Evans hit an RBI double and later scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game in the ninth.

With the Trailblazers looking to send the game into extra innings, the Spoon River batters continued to be patient at the plate, coming away with three walks in the inning, including the game-winning walk as the Snappers came away with the 12-11 win over VU.

Freshman Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) got the start in game four and threw 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits.

Freshman Caleb Moore (Wentzville, Mo.) had a good game out of the pen, throwing 3.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out one.

 Aces win by a final of 4-3

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a 7-on-7 match on Monday at Evansville Country Club, the University of Evansville women’s golf team defeated UIC by a final of 4-3.

A near perfect weather day saw the Purple Aces edge the flames in the match.  In match play, each hole in the head-to-head contest counted as one point.  Each individual match-up was decided when one player led their opponent by more holes than the number left to play.

Mallory Russell battled to the finish, taking a 1 up decision over Megan Tang.  Allison Enchelmayer defeated Brooke Beyer, finishing up three holes with two to play.  Carly Frazier and Magdalena Borisova both picked up big wins, holding a 5-hole lead with four to play.  Full results are below.

UE 4, UIC 3

UE Mallory Russell 1 up UIC Megan Tang

UIC Grace Szklarek 4&3 UE Alyssa McMinn

UE Allison Enchelmayer 3&2 UIC Brooke Beyer

UIC Lia Thomas 1 up UE Caitlin O’Donnell

UE Carly Frazier 5&4 UIC Adrienne Montalone

UE Magdalena Borisova 5&4 UIC Emma Hayes

UIC Stephanie Mroz 3&2 UE Taylor Keating

The ladies open next week at the Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate in Pawley’s Island, S.C.

USI (18-8, 4-0 GLVC) spotted the Prairie Stars a 5-0 lead in game one before a five-run sixth inning evened the contest. The Eagles sent nine batters to the plate and got run-scoring hits from sophomore catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana), freshman pitcher Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) and freshman outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana), the later of which tied the game with a two-run single.

After senior pitcher/designated player Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) held the Stars scoreless in the top of the seventh, USI went back to work in the bottom half of the inning. USI opened the frame with  three straight singles, including a one by Back, who also had a double in the sixth. That set the table for Kihega, who pushed across the game-winning run with a fielder’s choice.

Back (4-1) got the win for USI after giving up just one hit in one inning of work.

Illinois Springfield (18-10, 2-6 GLVC) built a commanding 5-0 lead by scoring two in the third and two more in the fourth. A lead-off home run in the fifth would prove to be the last run the Stars would score the rest of the day.

USI, which had just three hits in the first five innings, erupted for a combined eight hits in the sixth and seventh frames. The Eagles, who had a combined 19 hits in their final six offensive innings on the day, continued its offensive surge early in the second game.

The Eagles took advantage of an error to score three times in the bottom of the first inning and take a 3-0 lead. Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair(Greenwood, Indiana), who was a combined 4-of-6 on the day with two runs scored and two RBI, hit a two-out triple to push across the first two runs, while Back, who also was a combined 4-of-6 at the plate, drove Fair in with an RBI-single in the next at-bat.

USI, for the second time on the day, sent nine batters to the plate in the third inning as it tacked on five more runs to extend its advantage to 8-0. Kihega had a two-run double to push across the first two runs, while freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) pushed across the third run on a fielder’s choice. Following a wild pitch that saw the Eagles score their fourth run of the inning, sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) hit a two-out, RBI-triple to score the fifth run.

The Eagles threatened to score more in the fourth, but a ground-ball double-play ended the threat and kept the score 8-0.

Newman (4-3), meanwhile, was strong in the pitcher’s circle, where she scattered three hits throughout five innings to pick up the complete-game shutout. Newman finished with three strikeouts and retired the final five batters she faced to earn the win.

USI returns to action Saturday at noon when it travels to Kirksville, Missouri, to take on Truman State University in a GLVC doubleheader. The Eagles also visit Quincy University Sunday at noon in Quincy, Illinois, before returning to the USI Softball Field April 2-3 to take on Rockhurst University and William Jewell College.

WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer golf team finished off another third-place finish Sunday at the Rend Lake College Spring Invitational, hosted at Franklin Co. Country Club in West Frankfort, Ill.

The tournament was shortened to a one-day 36-hole event held Sunday. Vincennes placed third for the second time this season.

Vincennes was paced by sophomore Bryce Kirchner (North Vernon, Ind.) who finished with a five-over 147 for the tournament after shooting a 73 in the first round of the day and a 74 in the afternoon.

Kirchner’s score was good for a third-place finish in the tournament field, just four shots off the leader.

Freshman Caleb Maris (Terre Haute, Ind.) was the second finisher for the Trailblazers, ending his day with a first round 81 and a second round 78 for 17th place.

Freshmen Luke VanDeventer (Columbus, Ind.) and Paxton Schwomeyer (Oakland City, Ind.) tied for 20th in the field, with VanDeventer shooting an 81 In the first round and an 80 in the second.

Schwomeyer was just as consistent with an opening round 80 and a second round 81.

Freshman Sam Stewart (Floyds Knob, Ind.) rounded out the Vincennes scorers with an opening round 80 and a second round 86 to earn a tie for 30th.

“Bryce had a great day finishing third in the tournament,” VU Golf Coach Dennis Chattin said of the tournament. “Bryce Kept telling me during the round that he didn’t have his best stuff, but he just kept grinding and was able to finish well. Sometimes golf can be unusual that way. When you don’t feel you are at your best but you still score well and the opposite can happen when you feel you hit the ball well but just can’t seem to score. Most of the time that comes down to putting, which is always a big difference maker.”

“Paxton struggled with just not being able to birdie and got on a streak of bogies and couldn’t get off of it,” Chattin added. “Both of those guys have to play well for us to move up in tournaments. Caleb Maris had his best round of the year with a 78 and would have had two 78’s, but he hit a cart path which kicked his ball out of bounds.”

The Trailblazers will look to carry some of their momentum into next week, when VU travels to The Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholas, Ky. to take part in the Garn Championships, Tuesday, March 29 and Wednesday, March 30.

“Overall, it was a fair showing for us, but I believe we will improve when we get all the guys playing their best,” Chattin said. “It’s still early and the conditions aren’t the best yet.”