Trailblazers fall at MWAC Tournament, season ends at 25-33

NORMAL, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball season came to a quick end Wednesday night with the Trailblazers falling in the opening round game to No. 11 Parkland 10-4 before falling to Lincoln Land in the elimination game 13-9.

The day got off to a great start for the Trailblazers, with sophomore leadoff hitter Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) leading off the game against Parkland with a single, stealing second and coming in to score on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Colin Long to put the Blazers on the board in the first.

Parkland would even the score with a run in the second before VU answered back to grab the lead back in the third on an RBI single by Long.

The Cobras would take their first lead of the day in the fourth with three runs in the inning to hold a 4-2 advantage of the scoreboard.

VU would again answer back in the top of the fifth with a leadoff double by freshman Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and a single by sophomore Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.).

Parnin would come in to score on an RBI ground-rule double by Colin Long, giving him three RBIs on the game, followed by a sacrifice fly by sophomore Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) to even the score at 4-4.

This score would hold until the Cobras took firm control of the game with four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to take a 10-4 lead.

This lead would hold as the Trailblazers were unable to mount a late rally as Parkland picked up the 10-4 victory and sent the Trailblazers into the elimination bracket where they would immediately face-off against Lincoln Land.

VU got another excellent start on the mound from sophomore pitcher Xavier Hart (Jeffersonville, Ind.) who threw six innings, allowing four runs on six hits and striking out six.

Freshman Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) entered in the seventh, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Freshman Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) pitched the eighth inning, allowing two runs on one hit and striking out one.

"Xavier Hart gave us a chance," VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. "He threw really, really well for six innings. He kept us in the game and we battled. Unfortunately, the moves didn't work out and Parkland took advantage of our bullpen a little bit. Christian Pinson threw well at the end. We came up with some big hits, but at the same time Parkland came up with a few more."

The Trailblazers looked to immediately bounce back in an elimination game against Lincoln Land.

The Loggers were the first to score, plating a run in the second.

VU would answer with back-to-back walks by Ethan Burdette and Kobe Bartlett to start the third. Both coming around to score on a two-RBI single by freshman Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.), giving VU a 2-1 lead.

Lincoln Land answered back in a big way with three runs in the bottom of the third and four runs in the fourth to take a 8-2 lead.

Vincennes would not go out quietly however, scoring two in the fifth after Colton Evans led off with a single and Kade Hinton walked. Evans would score on a groundout put in play by sophomore Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.) and Hinton scored on an RBI single by Jace Parnin.

The Blazers again led off an inning with back-to-back walks by Burdette and Bartlett in the sixth, sparking a three-run rally with the pair coming around to score on a fielding error after an infield single by Colin Long.

Long would later score in the inning on an RBI single by sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) to cut the Lincoln Land lead down to a single run at 8-7.

The Loggers would get two runs back in the sixth before VU scored two in the eighth to cut the deficit back down to one.

VU scored on an RBI single by Kade Hinton, giving him three RBIs on the game and a fielder's choice put in play by Will Egger to cut the Lincoln Land lead to 10-9 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Loggers were able to tack on three insurance runs in the eighth as the Trailblazer comeback attempt ultimately came up short as Lincoln Land advanced with a 13-9 victory over VU.

Freshman Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the start in game two, throwing three and one-third innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and striking out four.

Freshman Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.) settled in on the mound after a shaky start to his relief appearance, throwing three and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on four hits and matching his career-high with eight strikeouts.

Christian Pinson again came out of the pen, this time closing out the eighth inning, allowing one hit and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.

"Credit to our guys for battling all year and unfortunately we weren't able to put up some zeros after we scored," Barney said. "Lincoln Land battled too and momentum shifted on both sides. We talk about it all the time, you have to put up zeros after you score runs and unfortunately, we weren't able to do that in the second game."

"Logan Medsker gave us a great outing," Barney added. "We had some timely hitting. When you put up nine runs, you expect to win. Unfortunately, it didn't happen tonight."

The Vincennes University baseball season comes to a close with VU sporting a 25-33 record overall and a 13-21 record against Mid-West Athletic Conference opponents.

The Blazers will look to reload heading into next season, with many key pieces from this team departing as sophomores.

"Our sophomores have done it for us all year long," Barney said. "All of our outfielders; Colton Evans, Colin Long and Kobe Bartlett. Dale Coy and Ethan Burdette. Will Egger and Mahkai Pelzer behind the dish most of the year. It's been a really good run. Unfortunately, Kaden Elliott got hurt late in the season. He's another piece of the puzzle who was out and has really swung the bat well this season."

"Hopefully we have a bunch of arms returning next year," Barney added. "We've got some experience in the infield with Kade Hinton and Jace Parnin. Trevor Newman has got some time behind the dish this season. Carter Whitehead played for a majority of the season in the outfield, so I feel good about the returners we look to have back next year. We have some guys that have played well that we expect to step up and hopefully fill some holes."

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (25-32, 13-20) – 101   020   000 – 4

Parkland – 010   300   42x – 10

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Long, Parnin, Egger. RBI – Long 3, Evans. HBP – Parnin. SF – Long, Evans. SB – Burdette.

GAME TWO

VU (25-33, 13-21) – 002   023   020 – 9

Lincoln Land – 013   402   03x – 13

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Parnin. RBI – Hinton 3, Egger 2, Coy, Parnin. SB – Burdette.