EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 17th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team remained perfect in the GLVC with a doubleheader sweep of Rockhurst University, 5-2 and 7-1, Monday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI rises to 14-5 overall and 6-0 in the GLVC, while Rockhurst falls to 9-8, 4-3 GLVC.
The victories also extend the USI winning streak to 12 games, three short of the school record of 15 that was set last season.
The opening game was a pitcher's duel until the fifth inning when Rockhurst first baseman Ryan Porter broke a scoreless tie with a home run to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
The Screaming Eagles rallied to erase the deficit with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. Junior catcher Jarrod Rose (Mishawaka, Indiana) gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead with a two-run double down the leftfield line that scored senior designated hitter Tyler Choate (Carmi, Illinois) and senior centerfielder Justin Blinn (Vincennes, Indiana).
The Hawks tied the game 2-2 in the top of the seventh, but the Eagles regained the advantage in the bottom of the inning. Choate provided the offense this time, scoring junior third baseman Ryan Kaczmarski (Mishawaka, Indiana) and freshman rightfielder Brad Wannemuehler (Evansville, Indiana) on a two-run double to right.
USI sealed the victory in the eighth when Wannemuehler doubled in senior first baseman Adam Enright (Hammond, Indiana) with the Eagles' fifth run.
On the mound, senior right-hander Trevor Leach (Danville, Indiana) worked his through several tough innings to win his fifth game of the season. He got out of a bases loaded jam in the third and allowed only one run in the seventh after Rockhurst loaded the bases with no-one out.
Leach (5-1) was credited with the win after allowing two runs on nine hits, while striking out two in 7.2 innings of work.
Senior right-hander Taylor Dennis (Covington, Indiana) got Leach out of his final jam in the eighth by striking out Porter with the bases loaded. Senior right-handed closer Dan Marcacci (Jupiter, Florida) finished the game by throwing the ninth to record his third save of the year.
In the nightcap, the Eagles scored all the runs they would need on back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first by junior shortstop Brad Vance (Louisville, Kentucky) and Choate. Vance's home run was his second of the year, while Choate clubbed his first of the season.
After Rockhurst cut the lead in half in the second inning, USI would go on to score one run in the third, fourth, and fifth before sealing the victory with a pair of runs in the sixth. Rose and Vance both had a pair of RBIs in the nightcap, in addition to Choate and Blinn getting a pair of hits and scoring twice.
On the mound, Choate (5-0) scattered five hits over seven innings of work and allowed a single tally to post his fifth win of the year. He also struck out five Rockhurst batters in the seven-inning, complete game.
USI stays in town, but travels to the east side to play at the University of Evansville in the “Battle at the Braun” game Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Eagles return to the road and GLVC action at the end of the week when they visit Bellarmine University for a four-game series.
The Eagles are on the road until April 5 when it hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College at the USI Baseball Field.
