VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team earned some pretty special recognition Monday morning as 10 members of the VU club earned Academic All-Conference honors for the Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC).

These athletes finished the year with an overall GPA above 3.5 to be recognized for this honor.

The VU honorees are;

JD Bowser, Fr., RHP, Mt. Carmel, Ill.

JD had a good freshman season on the mound for the Trailblazers, pitching 33 and one-third innings in 25 appearances this season for VU and striking out 26 batters, earning him an average of just over seven strikeouts per nine innings.

Holden Clifton, R-Fr., RHP/INF, Louisville, Ill.

Holden appeared in 33 games this past season for the Trailblazers, slugging a .298 batting average with two home runs and 17 RBIs, while also taking the mound three times, pitching three and two-thirds innings and striking out seven for an outstanding 17.18 strikeouts per nine innings average.

Bradyn Douglas, Fr., IF, Frankton, Ind.

Bradyn was a day one starter for the Trailblazers at second base, finishing the season with a .288 batting average with eight doubles and a home run in 48 games. Douglas also came away with 17 stolen bases on the season.

Reed Drabant, Fr., OF, Columbia, Ill.

Reed had a solid freshman season for the Trailblazers, appearing in 26 games, recording four RBIs and coming away with four stolen bases.

Logan Edwards, Fr., C, Corydon, Ind.

Logan competed for time behind the plate for the Blazers, appearing in 18 games, getting one double and two RBIs while batting .267 on the season.

Bryce Gross, Fr., RHP/INF, Bridgeport, Ill.

Bryce had a good season both at the plate and on the mound as a two-way option for VU this past season. Hitting .271 for the year with five doubles, nine RBIs and three stolen bases, while becoming a consistent arm out of the bullpen to throw 20 and two-thirds innings with 21 strikeouts.

Bryton Griffy, So., LHP/OF, Louisville, Ill.

Bryton closed out his VU career with a strong sophomore season with a .256 batting average, seven RBIs and three stolen bases. Griffy also made one appearance on the mound this past season, throwing one-third of an inning.

Blake Heyerly, So., OF, Monroe, Ind.

Blake finished his VU career with a very strong year at the plate, clubbing a team-leading six home runs, finishing with eight doubles and 30 RBIs in 41 games. Heyerly closed out the year with a .287 batting average and a .519 slugging percentage.

Keegan Schlotterbeck, So., RHP/INF, Centerville, Ind.

Keegan was another two-way option for the Trailblazers, platooning in the infield to finish the season with nine RBIs and two stolen bases in 27 games at the plate, while also recording five innings on the mound with five strikeouts and a 3.60 earned run average.

Carter Whitehead, So., OF, Huntingburg, Ind.

Carter finished out his VU career with nine doubles, 10 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and a .263 batting average in 47 games for the Trailblazers this past season.

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to congratulate these student-athletes on this tremendous accomplishment and recognition.

2024 SIAC All Conference Boys Track Team

SAUGET, IL – The Evansville Otters (6-15) fell in a rubber match to the Gateway Grizzlies (14-7) 16-2 on Sunday at Grizzlies Ballpark. The Otters had leads on two separate occasions but could not hold on.

The game opened with a bright spot in the top of the first inning. With two outs, David Mendham hit his first home run of the season to get the Otters on the board.

In the bottom of the inning, Gateway matched scores with a home run of their own to tie the game.

In the fourth inning, runners were on second and third when Randy Bednar hit a sacrifice fly to plate Mike Peabody. The Otters took their final lead of the afternoon with the 2-1 score.

From then, the Grizzlies put up crooked numbers in the next three innings. They launched four home runs during the stretch, including two three-run bombs and a grand slam.

Zach Smith (0-4) was solid through the first three innings as the starter. The Grizzlies got to him in the fourth frame and chased him quickly in the fifth. The righty surrendered seven runs.

While the next two arms out of the bullpen for the Otters also yielded multiple runs, Tristan Harvin and Leoni De La Cruz combined for three scoreless innings to close the game.

The Otters will head home with an off day tomorrow. The Lake Erie Crushers come to town to kickoff a six-game home stand. Tuesday is a Fifth Third Bank Family Tuesday, with all GA tickets available for just $2. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.