Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

MBA_IPFW2_Road_FP
WIU Visual Productions Center
1
Western Illinois WIU 10-24, 5-13 Summit
7
Winner IPFW IPFW 20-16, 9-9 Summit
Western Illinois WIU
10-24, 5-13 Summit
1
Final
7
IPFW IPFW
20-16, 9-9 Summit
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
IPFW IPFW 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 1 X 7 10 1

W: Evan Miller (5-2) L: Baksha, J.T. (2-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Drops Game 3 at Fort Wayne

Kendall King went 2-for-3 with a walk in the loss.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Leatherneck baseball fell to Fort Wayne, 7-1, in game three on Saturday (April 18) at Mastodon Field. The loss marks the final game of the regular season series between the two teams.

True freshman Kendall King went 2-for-3 with a walk in the loss while Mark Garton went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. The loss marks Western's second Summit League sweep of the season and drops the Leathernecks to 10-24 overall and 5-13 in The Summit League. Fort Wayne improves to 20-16 and 9-9 in the league.

"In 22 years as a coach and player at this level, I have seen teams have stretches like this," said coach head coach Ryan Brownlee after the loss. "It is usually just a few small things that get you back on track. It is on the coaches and players to continue to stay positive and work through it. I have had a career of accepting challenges and working through adversity. It won't be any different now. Our program will continue to work to make Leatherneck Nation proud."

WIU's defense started the game strong, retiring nine straight Mastodon batters with just one hit and a double play. The offense followed suit and jumped out to an early lead in the third.

"Defensively we were solid," said coach Brownlee. "Our young infield is starting to get more comfortable with each game which is a huge positive."

Dave Dobrinich opened the top of the inning with a walk, and King doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. JJ Reimer singled to right field to score Dobrinich for a 1-0 Leatherneck lead.

"We let a few RBI chances go early today," stated Brownlee. "When you have a chance to move a ball with a runner at third and less than two outs to tack on a lead, you need to take advantage."

IPFW used one hit and stolen base to take the lead back with two runs in the fourth. Another three runs on four hits in the fifth extended the Mastodon lead. Two more runs in the seventh and eighth put the game out of reach, despite Western loading the bases in the top of the ninth.

"We had a very good pitcher's duel going early in this game. For J.T. (Baksha) getting his first weekend start, I thought he pitched well enough to give us a chance to win," reflected Brownlee. "As with all three games this weekend, free bases gave them the momentum offensively."

Baksha allowed five runs in five innings with two strikeouts in his third loss this season. The Purple and Gold bullpen combined to allow just two runs on four hits, tallying six strikeouts.

Western's lineup starting lineup featured four true freshman with King grabbing his first career double, multi-hit game, and stolen base. Dobrinich, a fellow freshman, grabbed his second hit in three games. Reimer's RBI-single capped off a four-hit day from the Purple and Gold.

The Leathernecks travel to Peoria, Illinois on Wednesday (April 22) for a single game against Bradley before heading to Fargo, North Dakota for a three-game Summit League series with North Dakota State next weekend (April 24-26). 
 
 
Print Friendly Version