Strong day on the mound gives Trailblazers doubleheader sweep

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team completed the four-game sweep of opening weekend at Jerry Blemker Field Monday by defeating Ancilla College 10-2 and South Suburban 3-1.

The Trailblazers began their day against the Ancilla Chargers and wasted little time jumping out to a quick lead in the first inning.

Sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.) came through with a two RBI single which gave VU the early 2-0 lead.

Ancilla responded by getting a run back in the second, but the Blazers took complete control of the game in the third.

Vincennes sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the third inning alone.

Freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) began the scoring with an RBI single that drove home Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.).

Sophomores Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) and Zach Finley (Charleston, Ill.) got in on the action with a pair of two RBI doubles.

Freshman Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) also ended with a two RBI single in the inning, two of his three RBI's on the game.

Vincennes rode the momentum of the big third inning to a strong 10-2 win over the Chargers.

Freshman Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) got the start for the Blazers, throwing 3.1 innings and giving up one run on three hits and striking out one.

Sophomore Josiah Sizemore (Cambridge City, Ind.) entered in relief in the fourth inning and threw 1.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit with one strikeout on his way to getting the winning decision.

Sophomore Camden Greer (Boonville, Ind.), freshman Caleb Moore (Wentzville, Mo.) and freshman Matt Brown (Allen, Ky.) all saw some time on the mound as Vincennes closed out the win.

VU then had to quickly turnaround and take on the South Suburban Bulldogs in the final game of the weekend set and this time the Blazers trailed early as South Suburban plated one run in the first inning.

Vincennes got on the board in the second inning on an RBI fielder's choice by freshman Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.) and a run driven in on an Ethan Burdette walk gave VU the 2-1 lead.

The pitchers stole the show in the game as neither team as able to put together a meaningful rally through the middle innings.

Vincennes extended their lead in the sixth when freshman Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.) was driven in on a hard-hit double play by VanLannen.

Freshman Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio) entered the game in relief in the seventh with the tying run on base and slammed the door shut on the Bulldogs as VU closed out the 3-1 win, their fourth in two days.

Connor VanLannen pitched another gem on the mound for the Trailblazers, coming off of five no-hit innings last weekend, VanLannen threw six innings Monday, giving up one run on one hit and punching out seven.

Kapostasy picked up the save in the seventh inning, allowing no runs and getting a strikeout.

"We played really, really well," VU Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. "We had minimal mistakes in the field and came up with some clutch hitting. We were able to bunt the ball around a little bit. We came up with some big hits, obviously in the second inning against South Suburban. Bartlett put the ball in play and scored Nick Williams, who got on by an error. Later in the game Connor VanLannen barreled up two balls and hit them about as well as you can and got a double play and an RBI out of it."

"I feel good about our outings today," Barney added. "Our pitching staff did a great job with VanLannen in the second game with Kapostasy closing is out. In the first game against Ancilla we ran a bunch of guys out there to throw. I felt really good about those guys. They did a good job for their first time on the dirt and first time getting some college experience. Today was obviously a good day for VU baseball."

"We talk about all the time that what will win you games is two out RBI's and we had a good string in the first game where guys did that. Dale Coy stepped up big for us and hit a ball as well as he can the opposite way and one-hopped the wall. We had a few guys come through in the first game and help us out swinging the bat."

The Trailblazers are scheduled to host another big weekend on games next weekend as VU hosts Morton College Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. eastern.

VU will return to the field Saturday, Feb. 26 to host Joliet Junior College and Olney Central with Vincennes taking on Joliet at 10:30 a.m. and OCC at 3:30 p.m.

There is a chance of inclement weather in the area before Friday, so fans are reminded to follow Vincennes University Athletics on all social media platforms to stay up to date on any schedule changes.

"Hopefully the first thing our team got from these four games is confidence," Barney said. "The best thing about playing South Suburban, who is a good team, they usually win about 30 games a year, is that you've got confidence that we played well in close games. That's something we weren't able to do last weekend at Cleveland State and we were able to do it here, so I'm very proud of our guys for that. We battled today and our guys did a great job in the dugout having energy and keeping the momentum over here throughout both games. I hope we built some confidence and we feel like we're going to go on a good run here."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

Ancilla – 010   010   0 – 2

VU (3-3) – 207   010   x – 10

VINCENNES HITTING

2B: Coy, Finley. RBI: Burdette 3, Evans, VanLannen 2, Coy 2, Finley 2. Sac Fly: Burdette. SB: Long 2, Evans 2, VanLannen, Finley 2.

GAME TWO

South Suburban – 100   000   0 – 1

Vincennes (4-3) – 020   010   x – 3

VINCENNES HITTING

RBI: Burdette, VanLannen, Bartlett. Sac Bunt: Burdette.