Southern Illinois News

Baseball Grabs First GLVC Win of 2023; Drops Series to Saints

 McKendree University baseball (7-11, 1-3 GLVC) rallied to capture its first conference win of the season on Sunday against the Saints but dropped its first Great Lakes Valley Conference series, 3-1, to Maryville. The Bearcats will return to the field for another GLVC battle at Southwest Baptist on March 17-19 in Bolivar, Missouri for a four-game slate. 

Game 1 | March 10
McKendree sought a strong first GLVC weekend with its tough matchup against the Saints in St. Louis. Maryville started off with a bang by scoring three in the first two innings. 

McKendree managed to even the contest at 3-3 in the bottom of the second as infielder Kyle Czarnecki bombed a home run to right center, pushing home outfielder Chyran Cruse and infielder Brett Freiberg. 

The Saints went on a scoring stint in the third with seven runs while McKendree added two with a Freiberg single to score utility Joey Kossina. The second run for the Bearcats was from infielder Nolan Pomatto's fielder's choice, bringing in outfielder Brandon Roth. Maryville added three more in the fourth and fifth innings, leading 13-5. 

The Bearcats searched to mount a comeback as infielder Michael Paule knocked a sac fly to score Czarnecki and Cruse blasted a homer. The scoring ceased for McKendree in the fifth inning as the Saints took game one for the weekend, 13-8.

Keegan McCarty started off the game for McKendree with 2.0 innings tossed and five strikeouts overall. 

Game 2 | March 10
The second game of the double-header slate on Friday was a battle until late between McKendree and Maryville as the Saints led 2-1 through six innings. The Saints struck first with a pair of runs in the first inning. 

McKendree came back in the fourth as catcher Tommy Mohan reached via error, advancing Czarnecki home for the first run of the day. 

In the seventh, Maryville found a spark to score nine runs, taking an 11-1 lead. McKendree put up a final run in the final half inning as a balk advanced all runners, allowing Mohan to reach home plate. 

Brandon Matthews (1-2) tossed 4.1 for McKendree with four strikeouts and just a pair of runs allowed.

Game 3 | March 11
The Bearcats met a revamped Saints' offense in the third game of the weekend, as Maryville scored 17 runs and shutout McKendree for the win. 

Owen Gross (2-2) started off the game for McKendree with 4.2 innings and eight strikeouts while allowing five earned runs. 

Game 4 | March 12
McKendree found its first in-league win during the Sunday outing, taking a 5-0 lead early and never looking back.

The bearcats started off with homers in the first and second innings to capture a 4-0 lead as infielder Noah Nelson fired a 3-run bomb to bring in outfielder Katom Parnell and utility Joey Kossina. Infielder Austin Francis grabbed a solo shot in the second, extending the McKendree lead. Czarnecki then reached via fielder's choice, allowed advancement of runners while Parnell scored to wrap-up the fifth. Bearcats led 5-0 entering the sixth inning. 

Maryville looked to mount a comeback with three home runs in the eighth but the Bearcat staff held off the comeback attempt. Freiberg then reached base in the eighth, allowing pinch hitter Drake Schrodt to make it around to home. 

Bearcats took the game and their first GLVC win, 6-3. Ryan Drayer (3-1) got the win on the mound with six innings of work and six strikeouts while relief pitcher Luke Aubuchon got his first save of the year and career. 

UP NEXT
McKendree baseball is back in action on March 17-19 in Bolivar, Missouri at Southwest Baptist for a four-game #GLVCbase series. The format will be 9-7-7-9 with a Saturday double-header. 

Original source can be found here