VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team took the field at Jerry Blemker Field for one last time during the 2022 Spring regular season Saturday afternoon and did not disappoint on Sophomore Recognition Day.
Vincennes picked up two wins and completed the four-game weekend sweep over John Wood, winning game one of the day 6-2 and taking game two 12-0 in five innings.
VU got on the board first in game one of the day when sophomore Ryan Bartley (Tuscola, Ill.) led off the third inning with a single.
Bartley would later steal second and score on an RBI single by freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.).
Vincennes would add another run in the inning when sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) drove in sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.) to give the Trailblazers an early 2-0 lead.
VU would add more to their lead in the fourth, scoring four runs in the inning on a two-RBI single by VanLannen and a sacrifice fly by Evans. Sophomore Josiah Sizemore (Cambridge City, Ind.) also scored in the inning on a wild pitch as Vincennes held a 6-0 advantage.
John Wood would attempt to mount a late comeback, scoring a pair of runs in the sixth, but were unable to cut into the VU lead as the Trailblazers took game one of the day 6-2 and clinch the No. 6 seed in next week’s Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) tournament.
Freshman Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) got the start on the mound in game one of the day and had a really impressive outing on the mound, throwing six plus innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three.
Freshman Eli Steimel (Sullivan, Ind.) entered the game in the seventh to close out the game, throwing one inning of hitless baseball and striking out one batter.
VU looked to close out the regular season strong in game two of the day and wasted little time getting going at the plate as the first three batters of the game (Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.), Connor VanLannen and Peyton Lane) all reached on singles to start the bottom of the first.
All three Trailblazer batters would come around to score in the inning, one on a sacrifice fly by freshman Jordan Roth (Delphi, Ind.) as VU opened up game two with a 3-0 lead.
Vincennes added more to their lead in the second, with Ryan Bartley leading off with a single and scoring on a wild pitch.
Ethan Burdette and Peyton Lane would each score their second runs of the game later in the inning on a two-RBI triple by Colton Evans that gave VU a 6-0 lead after two innings of play.
The Trailblazers continued to pile on in the third, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four runs in the inning, including Burdette’s third run in as many innings as VU held a commanding 10-0 lead.
VU would score again in the fourth, plating a pair of runs with back-to-back doubles by Bartley and freshman Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.).
John Wood looked to avoid the run rule loss in the fifth, loading the bases with one out before Vincennes closed out the game on a 9-3-6 double play to come away with the 12-0 win to close out the regular season.
Freshman Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) took the mound in game two and threw a very efficient four and one-third innings, allowing only three hits and striking out three on just 44 pitches.
Freshman Caleb Moore (Wentzville, Mo.) closed out the game, getting the final two outs on the fly ball double play without allowing a hit.
“I’m extremely proud of the way our guys battled all weekend,†VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “Especially our sophomores. These two games today were complete team victories.â€
“Knowing that we had clinched our spot in the tournament yesterday, our goal as a team game-by-game was to just improve our seed,†VU sophomore shortstop and Northern Kentucky commit Peyton Lane said. “We were playing more loose out there today and I thought it was a much more fun way to play baseball when we are all having fun. No one was getting down, everybody was picking each other up in the dugout constantly, so it was a great way as a team to go into next week the way we are playing.â€
