VU hitters have big night as Trailblazers pick up road win ahead of Conference showdown

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The VU Trailblazer bats had a big day as the Blazers came away with the 16-3 win at Rose-Hulman JV Wednesday night.

The heart of the VU order came through big for Vincennes Wednesday, with the two through six batters in the order coming up with 16 hits and 12 RBI’s in the game.

Vincennes got on the board in the third inning with a two out rally started by a triple by sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.).

Long would score on an RBI double by sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio), followed by RBI singles by freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) and sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.), giving VU an early 3-0 lead.

Vincennes would add on to their lead in the fifth when Long hit a solo home run. VanLannen would come through with a three-run home run of his own a few batters later, growing the Trailblazer lead to 7-0 midway through the game.

Rose-Hulman would answer back with a pair of runs in the sixth, but VU came back in the seventh to launch their best inning of the season, plating nine runs and sending 15 batters to the plate in the inning.

Freshman Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.) had the big hit of the inning, bringing in two on a double and later drove in another run after being hit by a pitch.

The massive inning gave the Blazers a commanding 16-2 lead over host Rose-Hulman.

Rose-Hulman JV would score a run in the seventh but could not close the margin as the Trailblazers came away with the 16-3 road win.

Colin Long finished the game batting four for four with three-fourths of a cycle. Peyton Lane batted four for five, with a pair of doubles and two RBIs in the game.

Colton Evans and Connor VanLannen each finished with three hits, with Evans driving in two runs and VanLannen plating four before being pulled in the seventh. Kaden Elliott also came away with two hits and three RBIs in the game.

“The hitters two through six did a great job today,” VU Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “The star of the game was really Colin Long who went four for four with a home run, two singles and a triple and scored three runs. But all five of those guys were really impressive and they just did what they were supposed to.

“Our team did what they were supposed to against a JV club,” Barney added. “I’m pretty pleased with the overall play today, we just have to make sure we get off to good starts to begin games as we start to go into Conference play.”

Freshman Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) got the start on the mound in the final tune up before beginning the Conference schedule, throwing three innings, allowing no runs on no hits and punching out four batters.

Stuteville was one of eight pitchers to take the mound Wednesday for the Blazers who limited the baserunners all night, allowing seven hits and three walks on the night.

Vincennes got big innings out of the pen from sophomore Braedon Nichols (Sullivan, Ind.), freshman Konner Thyen (Huntingburg, Ind.) and sophomore Luke Osborn (Perryville, Ind.).

“Our first three guys today threw really, really well,” Barney said. “I thought that Eli Steimel (Sullivan, Ind.) got into a groove, which is tough when you know you are only going to be facing a couple of batters. I thought all our guys did fine, they came in and threw strikes, which is half the battle and then Luke Osborn came in in the ninth and closed it out and did fine. We were just trying to get guys back on the dirt and get them ready for the weekend.”

Vincennes will begin their pursuit of a Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) Championship this weekend as VU travels to Canton, Ill. to take on Spoon River Community College for a four game set on Sunday, March 20 and Monday, March 21. First pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. eastern both days.

“We’ve just got to play fundamental baseball,” Barney said. “We have to do a good job on the mound and get some quality starts out of our starting pitching and get our bullpen in there when necessary.”

“Spoon River is feeling pretty good about themselves right now,” Barney added. “They have had a good start to the year and are receiving votes in the polls. They have obviously done some good things to feel good about, but if you compare our schedule to theirs, our competition has been head and shoulders above what they have had to face this year.”

“Spoon River is feeling good and feeling ready to roll and we’ve got to go onto their home field and compete for four games on an away surface four and a half hours away from home and the biggest thing for us is just getting off to a good start. If we can do that, then hopefully we can sustain it and move forward. We are going to have to play well, play well defensively like we did tonight, as well as get some key hits in the middle part of our order. We have to get quality starts out of our starters and allow our bullpen to not be overused during the four-game series.”