Eagles fall to Quincy, 1-0; defeat Lewis, 10-3
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The top-seeded University of Southern Indiana baseball team survived day two of the GLVC Tournament by bouncing back to defeat fifth-seeded Lewis University, 10-3, in the elimination game Friday afternoon in Sauget, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles, who are 36-16 overall, were forced into the consolation bracket after losing to fourth-seeded Quincy University, 1-0, Friday morning.
USI and Quincy will match-up for a second time in the GLVC Tournament Saturday at 11 a.m. as the Eagles hope to stave off elimination. If USI wins the 11 a.m. contest, the two teams will play a second elimination game at 6 p.m.
The Screaming Eagles had to come-from-behind in the 10-3 victory over Flyers to stay alive in the GLVC Tournament. Lewis finished its season 24-18.
After spotting the Flyers a 2-0 lead in the second, the USI bats came to life to break an 11-inning scoreless streak on a two-out, two-run double by senior leftfielder
Michael Huling (South Bend, Indiana) that knotted the score at 2-2.
The Eagles took a lead for the first time on Friday when senior designated hitter
Tyler Choate (Carmi, Illinois) hit his team-best seventh home run of the year. Junior shortstop
Brad Vance (Louisville, Kentucky) and Choate increased USI's advantage to 5-2 in the fifth with a RBI double and a RBI single, respectively.
USI sealed the victory with a three-run eighth inning, highlighted by a second two-run, two-out double by Huling. He finished three-for-five against Lewis with four RBIs, a run scored, and a double.
The Eagles added pair of insurance runs in the ninth with a home run by junior rightfielder
Bryan Chestnut (West Terre Haute, Indiana) and a RBI single by senior third baseman
Ben Griggs (Evansville, Indiana). The home run was Chestnut's third of the year.
On the mound, junior right-hander
Josh Schultze (Evansville, Indiana) got past a rough second inning to pitch a tough 6.2 innings. Schultze (6-4) allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and three walks, while striking two.
Eagles' junior right-hander
Silas Dill (Bernie, Missouri) and senior right-hander
Mark Walther (Kankakee, Illinois) got the final seven outs to clinch the win.
USI lost a heartbreaker in its opening game of the day when Quincy leftfielder Mitchell Broughton hit a walk-off solo shot to give the Hawks a 1-0 victory. The Eagles out hit the Hawks, 6-2, and only had two runners reach second as QU right-hander Rich Ruff shut down the USI offense.
USI senior right-hander
Taylor Dennis (Covington, Indiana) took the hard luck loss for the Eagles. Dennis (6-4) struck 14 batters in 8.2 innings, tying the USI single-game record set by Mike Fetscher in 1992.
Offensively, Vance and freshman rightfielder
Brad Wannemuehler (Evansville, Indiana) were the only Eagles with two hits.
