Eagles win slugfest in second game
OWENSBORO, Ky. – The 15th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team won a 12-11 slugfest in the second game of a doubleheader at Kentucky Wesleyan College to salvage a split Tuesday afternoon in Owensboro, Kentucky. USI bounced back in the nightcap after losing the opener, 3-2.
USI senior designated hitter
Tyler Choate (Carmi, Illinois) and junior shortstop
Brad Vance (Louisville, Kentucky) combined for six hits and five RBIs to lead the Screaming Eagles to the 12-11 second game win. Choate was three-for-five with a two-run blast in the first inning, three runs scored, and three RBIs, while Vance was three-for-four with three runs scored, two RBIs, and three doubles.
Choate has been on a tear for the Eagles the last six games, hitting .619 with 11 runs scored, 15 RBIs, five home runs, a double, and a 1.381 slugging percentage.
On the mound, freshman right-hander
Jim Mulvaney (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) won his first collegiate start for the Eagles. Mulvaney (1-1) allowed five runs on three hits and five walks, while striking out one in his 5.1 innings of work.
Senior right-hander
Mark Walther (Kankakee, Illinois) followed Mulvaney to the mound, working 1.1 innings, before giving way to junior right-hander
Silas Dill (Bernie, Missouri) for the final 2.1 innings. Dill recorded his second save after allowing three runs on three hits and striking out three.
In the opener, the Panthers came back from a 2-0 deficit with a run in the first three innings to win 3-2. The Eagles led 2-0 after a half inning when junior third baseman
Ryan Kaczmarski (Mishawaka, Indiana) scored on an error and Choate drove in Vance with a double.
KWC took the lead for good in the third when centerfielder Jordan White hit a solo shot for the 3-2 final. USI had a chance in the bottom of the seventh, but left the tying and go ahead runners on base.
USI senior right-hander
Jared Canterbury (St. Petersburg, Illinois) took the loss for the Eagles. Canterbury (0-1) threw four innings for the Eagles, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits. Dill held serve for USI in his two innings of work, giving the Eagles a chance in the seventh.
The Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of the USI Baseball Field Friday and Saturday to start a nine-game homestand. USI starts the final homestand of the regular season with a four-game series against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The first pitch for Friday's doubleheader is 3 p.m., while Saturday twinbill is slated for noon.
