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11
Winner South Dakota State SDSU 4-17, 2-3 Summit
3
Western Illinois WIU 5-15, 3-2 Summit
Winner
South Dakota State SDSU
4-17, 2-3 Summit
11
Final
3
Western Illinois WIU
5-15, 3-2 Summit
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
South Dakota State SDSU 7 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 11 15 1
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 2

W: Landon Busch (3-2) L: Koch, Ian (0-3)

0
South Dakota State SDSU 4-18, 2-4 Summit
2
Winner Western Illinois WIU 6-15, 4-2 Summit
South Dakota State SDSU
4-18, 2-4 Summit
0
Final
2
Western Illinois WIU
6-15, 4-2 Summit
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
South Dakota State SDSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Western Illinois WIU 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X 2 7 1

W: Mortillaro, Joe (1-3) L: Ryan Froom (0-5) S: Digrugilliers, Ricky (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Baseball Takes Series from SDSU

Joe Mortillaro struck out a career-high 11 batters in the 2-0 finale shutout

PHOTO GALLERY

MACOMB, Ill. – Senior Joe Mortillaro struck out a career-high 11 batters over six innings, and Nick Milligan and Ricky Digrugilliers helped combine on the five-hit shutout as Western Illinois captured the weekend series from South Dakota State. After losing the doubleheader opener 11-3, the Leathernecks responded with a 2-0 win in the nightcap.
 
With the win, Western improved to 6-15 overall and 4-2 in the Summit League while SDSU fell to 4-18, 2-4.
 
GAME 1
South Dakota State jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first. After starter Ian Koch retired the leadoff batter on a flyball, Paul Jacobsen worked the count full at 3-2 then singled into right field. From there SDSU used a pair of 2-run doubles and eventually sent 11 batters to the plate to spur an early 7-0 lead.
 
SDSU added an unearned run in the second inning but Western got that run back in the third. Roman Visintine was hit by a pitch to start and advanced to third on consecutive balks called. He scored on Chris Tschida's sacrifice fly.
 
A 2-run single by SDSU in the fourth extended the lead to 10-1. The Leathernecks loaded the bases in the fourth on a walk, hit by pitch and single from Cord Church. After a pair of strikeouts, Visintine stepped in and chopped a grounder to third. Newt Johnson's throw bounced in the dirt which led to two runs scoring.
 
The Jackrabbits added a solo home run by Jesse Munsterman to start the eighth inning for the final margin.
 
Koch (0-3) lasted two-thirds of an inning, allowing seven runs on four hits. Matthew Sturchio pitched 3.1 innings then Sam Cottingham-Beard went 4.2 innings, one out shy of matching his career-high. Cottingham-Beard allowed one run on five hits, walking two and striking two.
 
Adam McGinnis extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games, going 2-for-3 with a walk.
 
Munsterman went 5-for-6 at the plate. Starter Ethan Kenkel allowed three runs in four innings. Landon Busch (3-2) pitched five innings, allowing no runs on three hits.
 
"It was really just one bad inning for us all weekend. Matthew Sturchio and Sam Cottingham-Beard allowed us to win the second game. You don't ever think about that but we could have easily let it get worse and in the opening game go through four or five arms," said Western head coach Ryan Brownlee. "Sam and Matt did a good job of getting us quality innings so we could save some of our other bullpen guys for game two."
 
 
GAME 2
This time it was Western scoring first in the opening frame. Visintine singled to lead off the inning (extending his career-high hitting streak to eight games) and eventually stole second. He scored on a two-out single from Conner Currier.
 
The Jackrabbits used a walk, hit batter and catcher's interference to load the bases with one out in the second. Mortillaro got out of the jam thanks to a strikeout and groundout to end the threat. The senior right-hander struck out the side in the fourth and the momentum carried over to the bottom half of the inning.
 
Dave Dobrinich recorded his first career triple to lead off the fourth, then he scored on CJ Schaeffer's first collegiate hit, a RBI single making it 2-0.
 
In the sixth, SDSU used a one out single and walk to put runners on the corners, but Mortillaro recorded his 11th strikeout of the game then got Cody Sharrow to foul out to Nick Schrader at third base to end the half inning.
 
Milligan needed just 18 pitches in his two innings of work. He gave up a leadoff single in the seventh, but Phil Velez was erased when Currier started a 3-6 double play.
 
Digrugilliers struck out the first two batters he faced in the ninth. After a single from Sharrow, the junior right-hander got Velez to ground out to end the game and earn him his first save.
 
Mortillaro (1-3) scattered just three hits in his six innings and walked two. The three WIU pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts to just two walks.
 
"That's as good as Joe has thrown. He attacked the whole game and just hammered away," said Brownlee. "Milligan did a good job then Ricky comes in (got two strikeouts) and you still have Westfahl there if you need him.
 
"We've moved some guys around, we're kind of the walking wounded right now. But that's ok because we're finding a way to win and that's what is most important. To put a shutout up in game three, that's hard to do," said Brownlee. "I give our pitchers and defense a ton of credit because we stayed with it in a low scoring game."
 
Schaeffer not only got his first collegiate hit, but his first multi-hit game as well.
 
"I'm happy for CJ. That's part of your freshman year. It's not always going to go the way you want it but you can't ask your catcher to go 18 innings, especially this early in the year, and CJ did a good job. He doesn't get a ton of credit because everyone wants to look offensively but he's really good back there. He blocks everything and does a really good job of handling our pitching staff as a freshman."
 
The 7-8-9 hitters in the WIU lineup came into the game a combined 3-for-55. Dobrinich went 1-for-2 with a run scored, Schaeffer went 2-for-4 with the RBI and Steve McShane was 1-for-3.
 
"Over the course of a season you're going to have the normal ebb and flow with the guys offensively. It doesn't matter how you're scoring runs whether it's the top or bottom of your lineup because guys are going to have to pick each other up," stated Brownlee.
 
Luke Ringhofer had two of the Jackrabbits' five hits. Ryan Froom (0-5) gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
 
The Leathernecks conclude their seven game homestand on Tuesday afternoon (March 29), playing host to Illinois-Springfield at 3 p.m.
 
 
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