Whaley pitches gem, Blazers drop doubleheader to No. 6 Heartland C.C.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team closed out the Mid-West Athletic Conference series Friday afternoon with No. 6-ranked Heartland Community College at Jerry Blemker Field.

The Blazers ended up dropping the series finale doubleheader to the Hawks 3-2 and 10-2 despite six and two-thirds strong innings by freshman pitcher Eastin Whaley (Kokomo, Ind.) in game one of the day.

Offenses were held at bay in game one of the day, with both starting pitchers holding a scoreless tie through four innings.

Heartland was the first to break onto the scoreboard with a run in the fifth, before the Trailblazers answered back to take their first lead of the day with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

VU opened the inning with sophomore Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) reaching on a fielding error, followed by a single by sophomore Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.).

Douglas would move up 90 feet to second with a stolen base to give the Blazers two runners in scoring position.

Sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) was able to come through in the clutch with a big two-out two RBI single to give the Blazers a 2-1 lead.

The Blazers would hold this lead into the seventh before Heartland would regain their lead with a pair of runs to take a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

VU looked to get a run and keep the game going in their half of the seventh and were able to get a runner on with a single by Bradyn Douglas, who advanced into scoring position on an error.

The Trailblazers were unable to push the run across in the inning unfortunately as Heartland closed out the game one win over VU 3-2.

Vincennes was bolstered in the game by an big game on the mound by starting pitcher Eastin Whaley, who was limit the Hawks offense for most of his six and two-thirds innings on the mound.

Whaley finished his day throwing six and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out four.

Whaley then turned the game over to freshman Ty Stultz (Terre Haute, Ind.) who got the final out of the seventh with a strikeout.

The Trailblazers looked to bounce back and close out the weekend strong in the series finale.

After another excellent start by both starting pitchers, the Hawks again grabbed the first lead of the game with five runs in the fourth inning.

VU would respond in their half of the fourth after freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.) led off the inning with a single, his fourth of five hits on the day including game one.

Gricius would come around to score on an RBI single by sophomore Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) to put the Blazers on the board and cut the Heartland lead to 5-1.

Vincennes continued to cut into the deficit in the fifth after Bryce Gross reached on a dropped third strike, taking advantage of Heartland's mistake with a sacrifice bunt by Bradyn Douglas and an RBI single by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.) to cut the Heartland lead to 5-2.

The Hawks would get a run back in the sixth before breaking the game open in the seventh with four more runs to take a 10-2 lead.

The Trailblazers needed to score in the bottom of the seventh to keep the game going and looked to be in good shape after back-to-back singles by Nate Montgomery and Carter Gricius but were again unable to push a run across in the inning as Heartland closed out the 10-2 win in game two.

The Trailblazers had another really good start in game two by freshman Grayson Reichert (Shepherdsville, Ky.) who worked very efficiently early, needing just 26 pitches to get through the first three innings, facing one over the minimum and not allowing a hit in the first three innings.

Things got away from Reichert in the fourth as he finished his day throwing three and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs on six hits and striking out one.

Freshman Wyatt Burris (Farmland, Ind.) was the first out of the pen for VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney in game two, throwing two and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs, two earned on three hits and striking out one.

Bryce Gross took over on the mound from his shortstop position to get the final two outs of the seventh, retiring the only two batters he faced and ending the inning with a strikeout.

The Trailblazers will look to get back on track as we begin to head down the final stretch of the 2025 regular season as VU gets set to take on Olney Central College Monday, April 21 at 3 p.m. eastern at Jerry Blemker Field.

The Trailblazers defeated the Blue Knights 16-11 earlier this season in Olney behind home runs from Jevan Andrews and Bryce Gross.

The busy week will continue for the Blazers when they play host to Volunteer State Community College Wednesday, April 23 at Jerry Blemker Field. First pitch for this game will be 2 p.m. eastern.

Vincennes will then return to MWAC Conference play next weekend when VU hosts Spoon River College Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, with first pitch each day scheduled for 12 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Heartland – 000   010   2 – 3

VU (16-27, 6-17) – 000   020   0 – 2

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Gricius. RBI – Montgomery 2. SB – Douglas.

GAME TWO

Heartland – 000   501   4 – 10

VU (16-28, 6-18) – 000   110   0 – 2

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Andrews, Johnson. RBI – Andrews, Edlin. HBP – Gricius. SB – Andrews. Sac Bunt – Douglas.