OLNEY, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team hit the road Wednesday afternoon for a mid-week showdown with NJCAA Division I Olney Central College.
The Trailblazers fell behind early but battled back and overcame an early five run deficit to pick up the 16-11 victory over the Blue Knights.
Vincennes got the scoring going early with VU leadoff hitter sophomore Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) starting the game with a single.
Douglas advanced around the bases on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout before scoring the first run of the game on an RBI double by freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.).
Olney Central answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead.
VU would regain the lead in the second with a big two-out rally started by a single by freshman Wyatt Burris (Farmland, Ind.) and an RBI double by sophomore Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.).
The inning continued with Bradyn Douglas reaching on an error before stealing second to put runners on second and third.
Freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.) gave the Blazers the lead back with a two-RBI single to put VU back ahead 4-2.
This lead would not stand however as Olney Central responded back with three runs in the second and four runs in the third to take a 9-4 lead over the Trailblazers.
The middle innings were much kinder to the Trailblazers though, as VU began their big comeback in the fourth with leadoff walks by sophomores Damon Kay (Spencer, Ind.) and Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.).
The Blazers would get their first run of the inning on an RBI double by Wyatt Burris, followed by a run scoring fielder’s choice put in play by Bryce Gross to cut the deficit to three.
The inning continued after a two out walk by Jevan Andrews leading to a successful double steal with Gross scoring from third.
Andrews would come around to score later in the inning on an RBI single by sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) to put the Trailblazers back within one run at 9-8.
Olney Central would get a run back in the fifth to put their lead back at two but it would not stand as the Blazers came through with another big inning at the dish in the sixth.
Bradyn Douglas led off the inning with a single, followed by a two-run home run by Jevan Andrews, his first collegiate home run to even the score at 10-10.
Nate Montgomery walked and Carter Gricius was hit by pitch before the pair moved up 90 feet on a passed ball to give the Blazers two runners in scoring position.
Noble Johnson came through with a big two-out two RBI double later in the inning, scoring Montgomery and Gricius and putting the Blazers on top 12-10.
VU would add to their lead in the seventh with a leadoff solo home run by Bryce Gross, his third RBI of the game and third home run of the season.
