Trailblazers split first two of four-game conference showdown with Parkland

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team opened their four-game Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series Sunday afternoon by splitting the first two games with Parkland College at Jerry Blemker Field.

The Trailblazers took game one over the Cobras 7-4 behind yet another really great pitching performance behind sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.).

Parkland battled back to take game two in comeback fashion, winning 7-5 over Vincennes.

Vincennes broke an early scoreless tie in the third with freshman Ethan Burdette scoring on an RBI double by sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) to give the Blazers an early 1-0 lead.

VU would tack on another run in the fourth on an RBI single by sophomore Josiah Sizemore (Cambridge City, Ind.).

The Trailblazers blew the game open in the fifth with a big four-run inning started by a walk by sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) and a double by freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.).

Connor VanLannen got in on the action helping himself out at the plate with an RBI single, followed by a two RBI triple by freshman Jordan Roth (Delphi, Ind.) and an RBI single by Josiah Sizemore to give VU a 6-0 lead.

Parkland would get on the board in the seventh with three runs to cut the deficit to 6-3.

Vincennes answered back to add an insurance run in the eighth with a walk by freshman Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.), who would later score on a wild pitch.

Parkland would try to complete the comeback in the ninth but ultimately came up short as the Trailblazers took game one 7-4.

Connor VanLannen had another impressive game on the mound for Vincennes, throwing into the eighth and allowing three runs on six hits and striking out seven.

Sophomore Braedon Nichols (Sullivan, Ind.) entered out of the bullpen and retired the only batter he faced on four pitches.

Sophomore Luke Osborn (Perrysville, Ind.) came in and close out the remaining one and two-thirds innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out one.

"Connor VanLannen came out and gave us a great outing," VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. "He gave us seven innings and then Nichols and Osborn finished it out and did what they have done all year for us. We got some clutch hitting in game one, the hits continued to pile up and we were able to put up a four-spot in game one and also played good defense."

"This was as good as Connor has thrown all year," Barney added. "For him to be able to do it with one more conference weekend to go before the tournament, it should make him feel pretty good. We were able to keep him under 100 pitches and he should be ready to go this coming Friday when we take on John Wood."

Vincennes continued their hot hitting streak into the second game of the day with the Blazers stringing together four straight hits to start the bottom of the first with Peyton Lane, Colton Evans, Connor VanLannen and sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) all recording RBI's as VU took an early 4-0 lead.

Parkland began their comeback with a run in the third and continued with runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well.

VU looked to grow their lead back in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double by Colton Evans, who would later score on a wild pitch to give the Blazers a 5-3 lead.

The Cobras responded back to grab the lead with a three run, two-out rally in the sixth and added an additional insurance run in the seventh.

Vincennes looked to try to send the game into extra innings but were unable to push a run across as Parkland took game two, 7-5.

Sophomore Kestler Harbuck (Brooksville, Fla.) got the start in game two for Vincennes, throwing into the sixth inning, allowing four runs on four hits and striking out eight.

Freshmen Cauy Motsinger (Salem, Ind.) and Eli Steimel (Sullivan, Ind.) pitched out of the bullpen with Motsinger allowing two runs on one hit and striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.

Steimel closed out the sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh for one inning of work, allowing one run on two hits and punching out one.

Freshman Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio) entered to get the final out of the seventh with a very efficient one-pitch outing.

"Game two, Kestler threw really well for us," Barney said. "We just didn't get it done in the bullpen and make plays behind him. When you give teams a little momentum with an error, walk and a hit batsman and all of a sudden all the momentum shifted to them late in the game. They were able to carry it through the last couple of innings and come away with the win."

The conference series will now shift to Champaign, Ill. for the final two games Monday, May 9 at Parkland College. First pitch Monday is set for 2 p.m. eastern.

"We've just got to learn and understand what it means to carry some momentum and build some momentum," Barney added. "We got it early in both games today and we've got to build on it like we did in game one. We have to continue to play good defense and hopefully get a quality start or two out of Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) and Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) tomorrow and be ready to roll with whatever we have left in the bullpen. Our defense has to play well and our offense has to continue to swing it."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Parkland – 000   000   301 – 4

VU (21-26, 11-14) – 001   140   01x – 7

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Long, Evans. 3B – Roth. RBI – Long, VanLannen, Roth 2, Sizemore 2. SB – Roth, VanLannen.

GAME TWO

Parkland – 001   131   1 – 7

VU (21-27, 11-15) – 400   010   0 – 5

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Evans 2, Long. RBI – Lane, Evans, VanLannen, Coy. HBP – Long.