Blazer big bats lead VU to doubleheader split

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team opened another Mid-West Athletic Conference series weekend Friday afternoon at Jerry Blemker Field.

The Blazers played host to Lewis & Clark Community College from Godfrey, Ill. in the annual ‘Battle of the Trailblazers’.

Vincennes was able to battle back and split the first two games of this four-game weekend series, falling in game one 10-2 before bouncing back and taking game two of the day 13-3.

VU got the day off to a good start in game one, breaking onto the scoreboard in the first inning after a double by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.), who later scored on a well-executed double steal with sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.).

Lewis & Clark would immediately answer back with a big second inning, scoring five runs in the second and adding one more in the third to take a 6-1 lead.

L&C continued to add to their lead late in the game with another run in the sixth and three more in the eighth, extending their advantage to 10-1.

VU came to the plate in the eighth needing two runs to extend the game and got off to a great start with a leadoff double by Jevan Andrews, his second double of the game, followed by an RBI single by sophomore Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.) to cut the deficit to 10-2.

This would be the only run of the inning for the Trailblazers though, as Lewis & Clark was able to settle in and close out the 10-2 game one victory over Vincennes.

Sophomore Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers in game one, settling in after a tough second inning to throw six innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and striking out five.

Sophomore Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) came in for VU in relief, throwing two innings, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out one.

“We’ve got to step up and play prior to giving up a bunch of runs on a crooked number,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “After the first two innings Carson Allen really settled in but he’s got to get settled in right from the start.”

“Then we’ve got to step up when we’ve got opportunities to score runs,” Barney added. “I think we had three two-out hits with no one on base out of the six hits that we had. So we’ve got to do a better job of getting on base, moving guys around and continuing to be aggressive.”

Vincennes would look to bounce back and even the series in game two, with Lewis & Clark striking first in the top of the first, scoring one run in the inning.

VU would respond in the bottom half of the inning in a big way, getting eight of their first 10 batter to reach base in the inning, including singles by sophomores Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) and Nate Montgomery.

A walk by freshman Jaret Phillips (Jeffersonville, Ind.) loaded the bases for sophomores Damon Kay (Spencer, Ind.) and Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.) to drive in runs on bases loaded hit by pitches.

Sophomore Yancey Edlin followed this with an RBI single before freshman Jakob Hoyer (Georgetown, Ind.) coming through with a two-RBI single.

Bradyn Douglas kept the inning going with an RBI single, his second hit of the inning to put the Blazers on top 6-1 after a busy first inning on the base paths.

Lewis & Clark would respond with a run in the second, which VU countered with another big inning oft their own.

Nate Montgomery and Jaret Phillips led off the inning with singles, with Montgomery coming in to score on a wild pitch, just before Damon Kay was hit by pitch for the second time in the game.

Freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.) cleared the bases in a big way, launching a big three-run home run, his first of the season, to increase the VU lead to 10-2.

Yancey Edlin kept the scoring going later in the inning with a solo home run of his own, his first of the season and first collegiate home run to put the Blazers up 11-2.

VU would get another run in the third after a lead off double by Jevan Andrews, who would score on a groundout by Jaret Phillips.

Lewis & Clark got a run of their own in the fourth, which was again immediately answered by the Trailblazers in the bottom of the fourth after Noble Johnson got a double and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Yancey Edlin, his third RBI of the game.

Vincennes was able to hold Lewis & Clark off the scoreboard in the fifth to close out a strong 13-3 victory for VU.

Sophomore JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) got the start on the mound for Vincennes in game two, throwing a five-inning complete game, allowing three runs, two earned on four hits and striking out five.

“First this game started on the mound,” Barney said. “JD Bowser gave us a chance, didn’t give up a crooked number in the first two innings and only gave up three runs in five innings and only two of them were earned.”

“Offensively it was timely hitting and taking advantage of their walks and hit by pitches, which is something that teams have been doing to us,” Barney added. “We’ve just got to build on this and build some momentum and get feeling a little bit better about ourselves moving into tomorrow.”

The Trailblazers will look to build on this momentum as the two teams head back to Jerry Blemker Field tomorrow, Saturday, March 15 for the final two games of this MWAC Conference series.

Game time tomorrow is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. but can be pushed back to 10 a.m. depending on rain Friday night and forecast for Saturday evening.

“We’ve just got to play well right from the get-go,” Barney said. “Our pitching staff has got to give us a chance. Our hitters have got to continue to step up. We’ve played alright defense. We’ve got Colton Okes on the mound tomorrow in game three. We are going to shoot for a 9:30 start but we may move it back to 10 if we get more rain tonight that we anticipate. Then game four’s starter is still to be announced. Our guys have got to respond and figure out a way to get two more wins and win the series tomorrow.”

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Lewis & Clark – 051   001   03 – 10

VU (8-11, 0-5) – 100   000   01 – 2

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Andrews 2, Johnson 2. RBI – Napier. HBP – Montgomery. SB – Andrews, Montgomery.

GAME TWO

Lewis & Clark – 110   10 – 3

VU (9-11, 1-5) – 651   1x – 13

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Andrews, Johnson. HR – Gricius, Edlin. RBI – Gricius 3, Edlin 3, Hoyer 2, Douglas, Phillips, Kay, Johnson. HBP – Kay 2, Johnson. Sac Fly – Edlin. SB – Douglas 2, Hoyer, Montgomery.

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The Vincennes University baseball team improves to 9-11 on the season, with a 1-5 record in MWAC Conference play.