Grenadiers drop two of three to RedStorm

IUS baseball loses first RSC series of the season against Rio Grande

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Brandon Miniard

Head Coach Ben Reel and the IUS baseball infield gather around relief pitcher Owen Evans during game one of last Saturday’s doubleheader against Rio Grande.

Brandon Miniard, Staff Reporter

Last Friday and Saturday both proved to be quite chilly at Koetter Sports Complex, the site of a three-game series between IU Southeast and the University of Rio Grande. The two-day affair was the first River States Conference matchup of the season for both sides.

Game One

Game one saw the Grenadiers send out reigning RSC Pitcher of the Week Jack Wohlert to the mound. Wohlert won the honor with a one-hit shutout in his previous start against Huntington University. The RedStorm would strike first in the second, when Kent Reeser launched a ball to the right field corner, scoring Michael Rodriguez on an RBI triple.

The Grenadiers would answer in the fourth when Jordan Branz singled to bring home Santrell Farmer, who was courtesy running for catcher Brody Tanksley. They would take the lead in the next inning, putting up three runs courtesy of a fielder’s choice from Cody Maloon, as well as a pair of RedStorm errors.

The RedStorm would get a run in the eighth after leadoff hitter Walter Baker III reached on a wild throw from Tyler Warmath. Once Baker scored, Wohlert would be relieved by Andrew Yates.

Kyle Hawkins came on in the ninth in hopes of closing the game with a 4-2 Grenadier lead, but the RedStorm would rally to score three runs while down to their final out to take a 5-4 lead. The Grenadiers would get a runner on in the bottom half but failed to score against closer Dylan Shockley, who would earn the save to complete the comeback.

“We play clean for seven and two thirds, then had an opportunity in the eighth with bases load and less than two out,” Grenadiers Head Coach Ben Reel said, “We didn’t capitalize offensively and it came back to haunt us.”

Caleb Fetzer, who came in to relieve RedStorm starter Zach Kendall in the sixth, earned the win while Hawkins would take the loss.

Game Two

The next day, the Grenadiers sent Jacob Frenkel out to the mound in an effort to tie the series in the first game of the doubleheader. Frenkel would not fare well against the RedStorm offense, as he surrendered nine runs in four innings, eight of them earned.

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Freshman Derek Wagner begins to round third base after hitting a two-run home run in game one of last Saturday’s doubleheader against Rio Grande. Photo by Brandon Miniard.

Aside from a two-run home run by Derek Wagner in the third, the Grenadiers’ bats were as cold as the weather against RedStorm starter Zach Harvey. Harvey pitched six innings, striking out seven as the RedStorm ran away with an 11-2 win.

“Game two seemed like a carryover from game one, as we came out flat” Reel said, “But it wasn’t from a lack of trying, we wanted to compete. It just got out of hand and it’s hard to come back from a deficit of seven or eight runs.”

Game Three

The nightcap saw the RedStorm score a run in the second against Grenadier starter Andrew Yates, a senior transfer from Campbellsville. The Grenadiers would rally with three runs in the fourth, followed by two more in the fifth, as Yates would go the distance for the victory. The win gives the Grenadiers their tenth win on the season, as well as their first in RSC play.

My mindset going into game three of the series was to make a statement,” Yates said,  “I knew this was a must-win game for us, and being that this was my first collegiate start, I wanted to do whatever it took for us to get the win.”

The Grenadiers will continue conference play this weekend when they welcome Midway University for a three-game series. The first game will start at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, followed by a doubleheader on Friday, which starts at 1 p.m, weather permitting.

Friday 3/1 (9 Innings):

Rio Grande (OH) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3   5 12 4

IU Southeast 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0   4 9 1

Win: Fetzer (R.G.), Loss: Hawkins (IUS), Save: Shockley (R.G.)

2B: (IUS): Brescia (R.G.): Rodriguez 2

3B: (R.G.): Reeser

Saturday 3/2

Game 1 (9 Innings):

Rio Grande (OH) 2 3 0 4 0 1 0 0 1   11 13 3

IU Southeast 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0   2 6 4

Win: Harvey (R.G.), Loss: Frankel (IUS)

2B: (R.G.): Shockley, Surrell, Dyer

HR: (IUS): Wagner

Game 2 (7 Innings):

Rio Grande (OH) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0   1 6 3

IU Southeast 0 0 0 3 2 0 X   5 7 2

Win: Yates (IUS), Loss: Knisley (R.G.)

2B: (IUS): Woeste, Mitchell (R.G.): Shockley, Daniels, Surrell

3B: (IUS): Branz