BOX SCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY
USI 8, MSU 6
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The ninth-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team opened NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Series play with a late-night victory over 11th-ranked Minnesota State University, 8-6, Sunday evening in Cary, North Carolina. USI raises its record to 49-13 overall, while MSU falls for the first time in the series and to 44-15 in 2010.
The Screaming Eagles advance to play sixth-ranked Kutztown University in the winner's portion of bracket two at 6 p.m. (CDT) Tuesday. Kutztown rose to 42-13 with a 2-1, 12-inning win over 16th-ranked Franklin Pierce University that took 5 hour, 38 minutes due to rain, lightning, and problems with the stadium lights. FPU fell to 41-16-1 after the marathon game.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first with a three-spot in the fourth inning of a game that started at 10 p.m. (CDT) and concluded at 1:30 a.m. USI's first run of the game crossed the plate when senior rightfielder Caleb Ehmke (Waterloo, Indiana) scored after junior centerfielder Justin Blinn (Vincennes, Indiana) reached on a single and an error.
Junior first baseman Adam Enright (Hammond, Indiana) scored the second run of the game on a RBI single by senior third baseman Wes Fink (Clarksville, Tennessee). Blinn scored the final run of the inning to give USI a 3-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by junior leftfielder Todd Martine (Rockport, Indiana).
The Mavericks cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth, but the Eagles got the run back in the top of the fifth and added three more to the advantage in the sixth to lead, 7-1. The three-run sixth was highlighted by Fink's two-run single.
Fink led the Eagles with four RBIs on three hits versus the Mavericks. Blinn also finished the game with three hits, while senior shortstop Wandy Rosario (Boston, Massachusetts) reached base three times, one hit, and had three stolen bases.
The Eagles would go on to score one more time in the ninth when junior catcher Dylan Mooney (St. Charles, Missouri) took over the lead for the USI single-season record for RBIs with a sacrifice fly. Mooney's 67th RBI of the year put him one ahead of sophomore second baseman Brad Vance (Louisville, Kentucky).
The Mavericks would score five times in the bottom of the ninth to make close before the Eagles put 8-6 final into the books.
On the mound, junior right-hander Taylor Dennis (Covington, Indiana) gave the Eagles seven strong innings to win his 11th of the season. Dennis (11-1 overall, 4-0 postseson) tied the USI single-season record for wins with teammate and junior righthander Trevor Leach (Danville, Indiana) by allowing one run on seven hits. He also struck out six MSU hitters.
After USI junior right-hander Mark Walther (Kankakee, Illinois) and junior left-hander Scott Handley (Schererville, Indiana) could not close out the ninth, Rosario recorded his 14th save of the year to complete the win.
