FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fighting Leatherneck baseball defeated Fort Wayne 3-0 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader before the second game was postponed due to darkness. The Leathernecks and Mastodons finished the second game Sunday morning, with IPFW hitting a walk-off double in the ninth to win 9-8.

Game 1: Western Illinois 3, Fort Wayne 0

The doubleheader opener was a seven-inning contest that saw a pitching duel until the final few innings when WIU put three runs across to earn the win.

On the mound sophomore lefty Aaron Michel (3-4) recorded his second seven-inning shutout victory of the season with a career-high 10 strikeouts for the Purple & Gold. The 10 strikeouts for Michel are the most for a WIU pitcher since Tyler Willman notched 11 against Fort Wayne on April 28, 2013.

The first four innings of the game were scoreless with a combined five hits between the two teams. The Leathernecks broke the scoring drought in the fifth inning after Travis Stafford singled to left field and scored on a Zack Burling RBI triple into the left center field gap. The triple was the second of the season for Burling, who also scored in the inning on a Jameson Henning RBI single.

In the sixth WIU added their third run thanks to a pair of wild pitches from Fort Wayne, which allowed Tanner Glore to cross the plate and give WIU the 3-0 lead.

IPFW led off the seventh with back-to-back singles, but Michel was able to get out of the jam and secure his team-best third victory.

At the plate Neil DeCook finished 2-for-3 and also recorded his 10th stolen base of the season.

The win marks the fastest Western has reached five conference wins in a season since 2007 when WIU also started 5-2 through their first seven games.  

Game 2: Fort Wayne 9, Western Illinois 8

The Leathernecks jumped out on top early in game two of Saturday's twinbill, scoring three runs in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. DeCook and Glore recorded back-to-back RBI doubles in the inning as the Leathernecks sent nine to the plate.

After a scoreless second WIU added a fourth run in the third inning when Jake Moore hit a leadoff solo home run over the right field wall. The blast was the second of the season for Moore and the fourth of his Leatherneck career.

IPFW battled back, however, scoring once in the third and fourth, and four more times in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. The Mastodons notched two doubles and a two-run home run during the three-inning stretch to go on top.

After another Fort Wayne home run in the sixth, WIU answered with four runs of their own in the top of the seventh to re-take the lead, 8-7. Western sent 10 to the plate in the inning, notching four hits and recording three walks to go back on top.

The eighth inning saw no runs for either team, and the sun setting, which caused the game to be postponed until Sunday morning. On Sunday the Leathernecks put two runners on in the ninth, but could not put a run across. IPFW won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off double from Kevin Wirth.

Five Leathernecks ended the game with multiple hits, led by DeCook who had three hits for the fifth time in his career. DeCook and Moore each notched two RBIs, while Burling scored twice for the Purple & Gold.

On the mound Tyler Willman started the game and threw 5.0 innings with three strikeouts. Tom Constand, Nick Milligan and Tyler Owings also made appearances on the mound for the Leathernecks with Owings (1-1) getting the loss.

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