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7
Winner Western Illinois WIU 13-22, 9-7 SL
4
Fort Wayne FW 6-29, 1-15 SL
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
13-22, 9-7 SL
7
Final
4
Fort Wayne FW
6-29, 1-15 SL
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 11 2
Fort Wayne FW 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 4 1

W: Koch, Ian (4-2) L: Jake Weber (0-6) S: Minella, Pete (3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Take First Game of the Series at Fort Wayne

Western Illinois secured a 7-4 road win.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Western Illinois opened its road series at Fort Wayne with a 7-4 victory on Friday (April 21).
 
The Leathernecks (13-22, 9-7 Summit League) got on the board early with a 1-0 lead when Drew Galassi continued his hitting streak and singled down the left field line, followed by Adam McGinnis' double to right field for the first RBI of the game. Two more RBI by Johnathan Fleek and Deion Thompson helped put Western ahead 3-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
 
Fort Wayne (6-29, 1-15) was able to put runners on first and third in the bottom of the first, but a pair of strikeouts by Ian Koch left the runners stranded.
 
After Steve McShane stole second, Galassi sent him home off a single to right field for his ninth straight hit to increase the Purple and Gold's lead to 4-0 in the top of the second. McGinnis followed up with a single of his own to bring in two RBI and make it a 6-0 game.
 
"It was our coldest day we've had in a while, and you don't expect to get that cushion early on with the way the ballpark is going to play," said head coach Ryan Brownlee. "I give our guys a lot of credit. Our hitters did a good job of capitalizing when we needed to."
 
The Mastodons rattled off three straight runs off singles to cut the Leathernecks' lead at 6-3 in the bottom of the third. A long shot to the warning track was interrupted by Galassi, who was there for the catch to strand a runner on base and retire the inning.
 
It was not until the top of the fifth inning when the next run was scored. Western loaded the bases with no outs and McGinnis ended up scoring on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.
 
Later, Fort Wayne was able to advance a runner to third and then score off a groundout to cut the Leathernecks' lead at 7-4, but that would be the last run of the game.
 
Adam McGinnis led the way, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Galassi added two hits and two runs scored. Koch (4-2) recorded five strikeouts through eight innings pitched. Pete Minella earned his third save, holding the Mastodons scoreless in the final inning.
 
"We didn't panic and I really liked the way Ian [Koch] attacked, and the 3-pitch inning helped him get in to the eighth," said Brownlee. "Pete [Minella] has also done a great job throwing strikes to where we knew that he wasn't going to walk anybody when it was time to put him in."
 
The Leathernecks return tomorrow for the game two at 1 p.m. (CT).
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
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