MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois Baseball team dropped the finale of a four game series to North Dakota State by a 14-7 score Sunday, April 11. The Bison (11-14, 3-1 Summit) took three of four games against the Fighting Leathernecks (9-19, 1-3 Summit) over the weekend.
North Dakota State took advantage of early mistakes by Western, scoring seven runs on six hits and two errors in the first inning to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Bison picked up five RBI singles in the inning and scored twice on RBI ground outs. The Leathernecks would get on the board in the bottom of the second inning on Chris Giglio's sacrifice fly to left field to bring Tom Lilja across the plate.
"Today's game was one where not everyone came out and played their hardest for us," Western Illinois head coach Mike Villano said. "It's really about mental toughness and right now we aren't at a point where we can make mistakes and overcome them.
"Baseball is about individual effort wrapped up in a team game. If one or two guys aren't ready to play their hardest it can hurt the whole team and right now we haven't been consistent enough to overcome those types of outings."
North Dakota State plated single runs in the fourth and fifth innings before tacking on two in the top of the sveneth on Zach Wentz's two-run single to left field for an 11-1 lead.
Western Illinois responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by Dan Dispensa and an RBI groundout by John Koszulinski to make it 11-3. An RBI double by Dispensa in the eighth would make the score 11-4.
"Danny (Dispensa) hit the ball really well for us today," Villano said. "We moved him back to the top of the order and he really responded well for us. Tom Lilja had a nice game as well, he's been scuffling a little so it was good to see him hit well."
The Bison brought across three more runs in the top of the ninth on a balk and a two-run single by Wentz to push the lead to 14-4. Te Leathernecks would attempt a rally in the bottom of the ninth, sending seven batters to the plate in a three run inning.
Rich Mascheri drove in a run on an RBI ground out and Cole Waddell hit a two-run double to right center field to make the score 14-7, but Bryan Jordan would fly out with two runners on to end the inning.
Wentz (1-1) picked up the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits in seven innings of work. He walked two, struck out one and helped his own cause by going 4-for-6 with five RBI at the plate.
Beau Below (0-2) took the loss, allowing nine runs (three earned) on eight hits in four innings of work. He walked three and struck out one.
"Beau wasn't as sharp as he usually is but a lot of that goes back to the fielding," Villano said. "Beau pitched well enough to keep us in it but the unearned runs put us in too deep of a hole."
Dispensa led Western Illinois at the plate, finishing 3-for-6 with two RBI. Waddell went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while Lilja went 2-for-4 with two runs.
The Bison out hit the Leathernecks by a 12-to-10 margin and committed four errors to Western's five. Western Illinois left 13 runners on base to North Dakota State's nine.
A total of six batters were hit a by a pitch in the game, four by Leatherneck pitchers and two by Bison pitchers.
Western Illinois returns to action in a midweek non-conference match up at Bradley. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and can be heard live via Rocky Vision beginning ten minutes before the first pitch.
The Leathernecks return to Summit League action at home against IPFW in a four game series beginning Friday, April 16.
