Offensive explosion extends Trailblazer baseball winning streak to eight

DANVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team extended their winning streak to eight games with another Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) doubleheader sweep at Danville Area Community College Tuesday, winning game one of the day 18-6 and taking game two 19-11.

The Trailblazers got the day going right from the beginning by scoring nine runs in the top of the first in game one, sending 13 batters to the plate in the inning, capped off by a three-run home run by sophomore Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.).

Danville Area would get on the board with a run in the first and a run in the second before VU would get those runs back in the third on a two-run home run by sophomore Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) his fifth long bomb of the season.

Danville Area would cut into the deficit with three runs in the third, which was immediately answered by a three-run inning by the Blazers, with a two RBI double by sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) and an RBI double by sophomore Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.).

VU would add to their lead in the sixth with a two-RBI double by Elliott, giving him five RBIs on the game and a two-RBI single by freshman Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.).

The Blazers would close out the game in the bottom half of the inning and invoke the MWAC Conference run rule, defeating Danville Area 18-6 in game one of the day.

Vincennes was led off on the mound by sophomore Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) who threw two and one-third innings allowing five runs on four hits and striking out one.

Sophomore Caleb Moore (St. Louis, Mo.) pitched three and two-thirds innings of relief, picking up the winning decision and allowing one run on three hits and striking out two.

The Trailblazers then looked to complete their second straight four-game series sweep in game two of the day.

Vincennes had to play from behind in the second game of the day after surrendering two runs in the first and three runs in the second.

VU would battle back in the third with an RBI single by Kaden Elliott and a two-RBI single by Colton Evans. Vincennes would get four runs in the inning to cut the Jaguar lead to 5-4.

The Blazers would take the lead in the fourth on a two-RBI single by sophomore Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.). Kaden Elliott would pick up a sacrifice fly in the inning to give VU a 7-5 lead.

Danville Area would score a pair in the bottom of the fourth to even the game at 7-7, before VU grabbed the lead back for good with a monster seven-run inning in the fifth.

VU would send 12 batters to the plate in the inning, highlighted by a two-RBI double by freshman Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and a two-RBI double by sophomore Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.).

Vincennes would extend their lead in the sixth with an RBI single by Kaden Elliott, giving him three RBIs on the game and eight RBIs on the day. Elliott was followed by a two-RBI triple by Colton Evans.

Danville would not go away quietly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit down to six before VU tacked on two runs in the seventh on a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly.

Vincennes closed out the game in style, retiring the side in order in the seventh to invoke the conference run rule and end the game with a 19-11 win in seven innings.

Sophomore Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) got the start on the mound in game two of the day, throwing four innings, allowing seven runs on four hits and striking out five.

Freshman Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.) would pick up the winning decision after throwing an inning and a third, allowing two runs on three hits.

Freshman Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) entered to finish out the sixth inning, throwing two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out one.

Sophomore Eli Steimel (Sullivan, Ind.) started the seventh inning and retired the only batter he faced on four pitches, before turning the game over to sophomore Xavier Hart (Jeffersonville, Ind.), getting the final two outs of the game, including striking out the final batter he faced for the second straight day.

The Trailblazers will look to continue their winning streak next weekend when VU heads to Peoria, Ill. to face-off in another MWAC Conference weekend series at Illinois Central College.

The first two games of the four-game weekend series are set for Saturday, March 25 with first pitch set for 2 p.m. eastern, with the teams returning for day two on Sunday, March 26 at 1 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (13-11, 3-0) – 902   304 – 18

Danville Area – 113   001 – 6

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Elliott 2, Egger 2, Coy. HR – Elliott, Evans. RBI – Elliott 5, Evans 3, Egger 3, Whitehead 2, Long 2, Coy 2, Burdette. HBP – Evans 2. SF – Evans. SB – Burdette.

GAME TWO

VU (14-11, 4-0) – 004   373   2 – 19

Danville Area – 230   204   0 – 11

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Newman 2, Bartlett. 3B – Evans. RBI – Evans 4, Elliott 3, Newman 3, Burdette 2, Bartlett 2, Coy, Hinton. HBP – Bartlett, Newman. SF – Bartlett. Elliott, Hinton.