Pair of late comeback come up short for Blazers in MWAC doubleheader

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team resumed their Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) schedule Saturday afternoon at Jerry Blemker Field, playing host to Danville Area Community College in the first two games of a four-game weekend set.

The Blazers fell behind early and came up on the wrong end of a 10-5 and 9-6 final scores in the conference doubleheader.

The day got off to a rocky start for the Trailblazers, with the Jaguars breaking the scoreless tie first with three runs in the second and adding another run in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead.

Vincennes would get on the board in the bottom half of the fourth however after a leadoff walk by freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.), followed by a hit by pitch by sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) and a single by sophomore Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.) loaded the bases with one out.

Douglas would come in to score on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.), putting the Blazers on the scoreboard but still trailing 4-1.

Vincennes would continue to cut into the deficit in the sixth after back-to-back walks by Hinton and sophomore Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.) and a single by sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) again loaded the bases with only one out.

Sophomore Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) would drive in the first run of the inning on an RBI single, followed by a run scoring fielder's choice put in play by sophomore Bryton Griffy (Louisville, Ill.) put the Blazers within a run of the Jaguars at 4-3.

Danville Area would respond however in the top of the seventh, putting together a big six run inning to take a commanding 10-3 lead.

VU would continue to battle in the bottom of the seventh with a single by redshirt freshman Holden Clifton (Louisville, Ill.), followed by a two-run home run by Brandon Juarez, his third of the season.

This would be as close as the Blazers would get however as the teams traded zeros in the final two innings to give Danville Area the 10-5 victory over VU.

Freshman Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) got the start in game one for the Trailblazers, pitching into the seventh inning, allowing five runs, three earned runs, on 11 hits and striking out two.

Freshman JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) came out of the bullpen to throw two and two-thirds innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just a single hit and striking out four in the outing.

VU would look to bounce back in the second game of the conference doubleheader but again quickly found themselves trailing on the scoreboard.

Danville Area came out firing in game two, scoring a run in the first, five runs in the third, a run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to take a 9-0 lead.

Vincennes would get on the scoreboard and start their comeback hopes in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff double by Holden Clifton, followed by an RBI double by Jace Parnin.

Brandon Juarez was hit by pitch and pinch run for by freshman Canaan Miller (Indianapolis, Ind.), who came around to score on a wild pitch.

Parnin would later score on a ground out put in play by Carter Whitehead to cut the VU deficit to 9-3.

After a scoreless top of the seventh, the Blazers looked to do more damage and complete the comeback in the bottom of the seventh after a pinch hit walk by Bradyn Douglas and a walk by Holden Clifton, sophomore Keegan Schlotterbeck (Centerville, Ind.) seemed to shift the momentum with a big three-run home run, his first collegiate home run.

Unfortunately, this would be as close as the Blazers would get as Danville was able to close out the game and take game two of the day by the final score of 9-6.

Freshman Alex Wandersee (Centerville, Ind.) got the start in game two for Vincennes, throwing three innings, allowing six runs, one earned run, on three hits and striking out two.

Freshman Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) was the first out of the bullpen for VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney, throwing two innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out three.

Keegan Schlotterbeck took to the mound for the final two innings, allowing only two hits and striking out one.

The Blazers will look to bounce back as the series shifts to Danville, Ill. for the final two games of this four-game series Sunday, March 24. First pitch Sunday is set for 2 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Danville Area – 030   100   600 – 10

VU (9-18, 3-6) – 000   102   200 – 5

VINCENNES HITTING

HR – Juarez. RBI – Juarez 2, Hinton, Newman, Griffy. Sac fly – Hinton.

GAME TWO

Danville Area – 105   120   0 – 9

VU (9-19, 3-7) – 000   003   3 – 6

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Parnin 2, Clifton. HR – Schlotterbeck. RBI – Schlotterbeck 3, Parnin, Whitehead. Sac bunt – Parnin.