‘Why not us’ – Trailblazers win Region 24 Championship

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team captured their first Region 24 Championship in program history, since moving from Region 12 in 2016, the first Mid-West Athletic Conference Championship, which they also joined in 2016 and will be making their first District Championship appearance since 2014 after defeating Lincoln Land Community College 6-4 and 14-8 Saturday afternoon.

The Trailblazers entered the day needing two wins over the host Loggers and were able to open the day with a bang to start game one with a leadoff triple by sophomore Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.).

Douglas would come in to score the first run of the game on a fielder's choice put in play by sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) to give the Blazers the early 1-0 lead.

Lincoln Land answered in front of their home crowd with a run in the second and three big runs in the third to take their first lead of the day at 4-1.

Vincennes immediately answered in the top of the fourth with sophomore Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.) leading off the inning by reaching on an error, followed by a single by sophomore Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.) and a walk by sophomore Brody Fessel (DePauw, Ind.) to load the bases.

Sophomore Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) followed this with a sacrifice fly to score Napier, followed by an RBI single by Bradyn Douglas, his third hit of the game and third of four times reaching base safely.

The Trailblazers grabbed the lead back with a big two-out two-RBI single by Nate Montgomery to put the Blazers back on top 5-4.

Vincennes would add to their lead in the sixth after a two-out walk by Bradyn Douglas and a single by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.).

VU sophomore left fielder Nate Montgomery once again came through with runners in scoring position, getting an RBI single to score Douglas, giving the Blazers a 6-4 lead and Montgomery's fourth RBI of the day.

The Trailblazers looked to add more but were held off the scoreboard as Vincennes closed out the game one victory 6-4 to force a winner-take-all Championship game against the Loggers.

Sophomore Colton Okes (Evansville, Ind.) got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers in game one, throwing two and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs on four hits and striking out two.

Okes then turned the game over to freshman Jacob Allen (Vincennes, Ind.) who pitched a gem of a game to help the Blazers secure the win.

Allen faced two over the minimum over six and one-third innings, holding the Loggers off the scoreboard and allowing just one hit while striking out four in the game.

The Trailblazers looked to carry this momentum over to game two of the day in the winner-take-all Championship game of the Region 24 Pool B tournament.

Vincennes once again broke onto the scoreboard first, plating a pair of runs in the second on an RBI single by freshman Evan Doran (Indianapolis, Ind.) and an RBI double by sophomore Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.).

Lincoln Land would come firing back in the bottom half of the second inning, using a pair of big home runs to grab their first lead of the game at 5-2.

Vincennes then immediately answered back with five runs of their own in the top of the third, using a big two-out rally highlighted by an RBI double by Evan Doran, an RBI single by Brody Fessel and a two-RBI double by Bryce Gross to give the Trailblazers a 7-5 lead.

VU would add another run in the fourth on a big two-out solo home run by freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.), his fifth of the season.

Lincoln Land would get a pair of runs back in the bottom of the fourth however, cutting the Trailblazer lead back down to 8-7.

Vincennes would add to their lead again in the sixth with a two-run home run by Carter Gricius, his second of the game and sixth of the season to put the Blazers back on top 10-7.

Lincoln Land once again answered back in their half of the sixth inning but were only able to score one run after the Loggers had the bases loaded with no outs in the inning.

VU helped create some separation again in the seventh with an RBI groundout put in play by Carter Gricius, giving him four RBIs in the game, followed by a two-RBI double by Corbin Napier and an RBI single by Evan Doran, giving him three RBIs in the game on his third of four hits in the game to give Vincennes a 14-8 lead.

The Trailblazer pitching staff once again held the Logger batters at bay down the stretch as Vincennes closed out the game 14-8, earning their first Region 24 Championship in school history and first Region title since 2014.

Freshman Grayson Reichert (Shepherdsville, Ky.) got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers in game two, throwing one and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on one hit and striking out one.

Freshman Ty Stultz (Terre Haute, Ind.) was the first out of the pen for VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney, throwing two innings, allowing four runs on four hits and striking out three.

Sophomore Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) then entered to pitch on just one day's rest after throwing five and one-thirds innings Thursday afternoon against Lincoln Land, coming back when the Blazers needed him to close out the final five and one-third innings, allowing one run on six hits and striking out three.

The Trailblazers will now advance to the Central District Championships, hosted May 15 through May 17 by the Region 16 Champion in Missouri.

The Blazers will be making their first District Championship appearance since 2014, when the Blazers made it to the NJCAA Division II College World Series.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (26-32, 14-22) – 100   401   000 – 6

Lincoln Land – 013   000   000 – 4

VINCENNES HITTING

3B – Douglas, Johnson. RBI – Montgomery 4, Douglas, Gross. HBP – Gricius, Andrews. Sac Fly – Gross. SB – Montgomery. Sac Bunt – Andrews.

GAME TWO

VU (27-32, 15-22) – 025   102   400 – 14

Lincoln Land – 050   201   000 – 8

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Napier 2, Gross, Doran, Andrews, Johnson. HR – Gricius 2. RBI – Gricius 4, Doran 3, Napier 2, Gross 2, Johnson, Fessel. HBP – Gricius.