MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois took a 6-3 victory in game one of a doubleheader against North Dakota State in Summit League action Saturday, April 10 before dropping the second game by a 14-2 score.
The Fighting Leathernecks (8-18, 1-2 Summit) used a strong outing from Devin VanBrooker to shut down the Bison (10-14, 2-1 Summit) in game one before the North Dakota State offense erupted for a 14-2 victory in game two.
"We played a really good game all around in game one," Western Illinois head coach Mike Villano said. "Unfortunately the momentum didn't carry to game two for us and we got back to some bad habits, but we saw a lot of positives in game one.
"We were extremely patient at the plate in the first game, we showed a good approach at the dish and we got a great pitching performance. That's going to win us a lot of games if we can do it consistently."
Game 1: Western Illinois 6, North Dakota State 3
The Leathernecks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on an Anthony Kaskadden sacrifice fly that scored John Koszulinski from third in the bottom of the second inning before the Bison would respond with a run of their own on a Zach Wentz solo home run to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning.
Western would retake the lead in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring two runs on two consecutive bases-loaded walks to take a 3-1 lead in the middle innings.
After a scoreless top of the seventh that saw the Bison go down in order, Western Illinois would tack on three runs in the bottom of the inning on Koszulinski's three-run double to right center field to make it 6-1.
The Bison would attempt a late rally, plating two runs in the top of the eighth on an RBI double by Wentz and an RBI single by Eric Nutzhorn to cut the lead to 6-3.
Chris Macek shut down North Dakota State in the ninth, allowing just one base runner via a walk, to pick up his first save of the season. Macek allowed just one hit in one and one third innings of relief.
Devin VanBrooker (3-1) picked up the win by allowing just three runs on eight hits in 7.2 innings, setting a new career and season high in innings pitched. He walked one and struck out seven, pushing his strikeout total to a team-leading 28 on the season.
"Devin was great today," Villano said. "He was very aggressive and came out and attacked hitters right away. He pitched to contact and got a lot of ground ball outs. He keeps getting better every day and every start."
McHale Maristuen (1-4) took the loss for the Bison, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings of work. He wlked three and struck out three.
Koszulinski finished the game 3-for-3 with four RBI and a run scored while Dan Dispensa finished 1-for-4 with two runs.
"Koszulinski is a really big, strong kid who has a great approach at the plate," Villano said. "He's really seeing the ball well right now and we expect him to keep on leading us in the middle of the order."
Both teams collected nine hits in the first game and Western Illinois committed the lone error of the contest.
Game 2: North Dakota State 14, Western Illinois 2
Western Illinois fell in to an early 8-1 hole in game two of the doubleheader and was unable to rebound from the early deficit in a 14-2 loss.
The Bison took the first lead of the game on an RBI single in the top of the first inning and scored another run on a double play to take an early 2-0 lead.
The Leathernecks came back with a run of their own on Koszulinski's RBI single to left center to cut the deficit in half, but North Dakota State would plate six runs in the top of the third to take a commanding 8-1 lead.
The Bison scored six runs on five hits and an error in the third, including a two-run homer from Tyler Steen, to push the lead to seven runs and would add a single run on in the fourth to make the score 9-1.
A Bryan Jordan solo home run to center field, his team-leading sixth of the season, cut the lead to 9-2 in the bottom half of the fourth inning.
"Bryan is a really good hitter with some good power," Villano said. "We've really liked what we've gotten from him as far as offensive production and he's been really good at the plate over the last few weeks."
North Dakota State would put the game out of reach when the Bison scored a single run and Nic Obey hit a grand slam to deep left field in the top of the seventh and final inning to make the final score 14-2.
Mark Hermes (1-0) picked up the win for the Bison, allowing just two runs on seven hits in a complete-game victory. He walked two and struck out seven.
David Hill (0-3) took the loss, allowing seven runs (three earned) on five hits, two walks and two strikeouts in 2.2 innings. It was Hill's first start of the 2010 season.
Jordan finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs and the solo home run. The Bison picked up 14 hits to Western's seven and both teams committed three errors in game two.
"We just need to put the second game behind us, learn from what we did well in game one and come out ready to play hard tomorrow," Villano said.
The two teams will face each other in the fourth and final game of the series tomorrow (April 11) at 12 noon.
