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Western Illinois University Athletics

Javin Drake
WIU Visual Productions Center
15
Winner Western Illinois WIU 14-23, 10-8 Summit
5
Fort Wayne FW 7-30, 2-16 Summit
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
14-23, 10-8 Summit
15
Final
5
Fort Wayne FW
7-30, 2-16 Summit
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 2 1 2 8 0 2 15 16 2
Fort Wayne FW 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 5 7 2

W: Drake, Javin (3-5) L: Cameron Boyd (0-7) S: Cottingham-Beard, Sam (2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Take Series Over Fort Wayne With 15-5 Win

Western Illinois ended the game in eight innings with a 10-run win.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Eight runs in the sixth inning sealed the game for the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks, who were able to defeat the Fort Wayne Mastodons 15-5 in eight innings to close out the series (April 23).
 
"The guys deserve all the credit. You have to play with that sense of urgency because every game you win gets you closer to getting into the Summit League Tournament," said head coach Ryan Brownlee. "The team that's going to win the tournament is going to be the one that plays consistent. I'm very happy with our guys because it could have swung a different way when Fort Wayne tied the game up."
 
Western was able to get on the board first in the top of the third when Steve McShane singled, and then a double to center by Drue Galassi was able to bring McShane home for a 1-0 lead. After Galassi advanced the third on a wild pitch, Adam McGinnis was able to bring him home with a groundout RBI for a 2-0 Western lead. Later in the inning, Fort Wayne was able to put runners on first and second, but a nice 6-4-3 double play closed out the inning.
 
The Leathernecks (14-23 overall, 10-8 Summit League) were able to gain a 3-0 cushion in the top of the fourth off a McShane single, but the Mastodons (7-30, 2-16) were able to record a two-shot homer in the bottom of the fourth to pull to within one.
 
Western Illinois was once again able to put runners on base after Conner Currier and McGinnis made it to second and third off Roman Visintine's sacrifice bunt. The lead increased to 5-2 off Deion Thompson's single to bring McGinnis and Currier home in the fifth. The Mastodons, however, were able to get a three-run homer to make it even at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Western wasted no time to respond though, when Galassi launched a homer to right center to bring McShane home and make it a 7-5 game. The Leathernecks were able to tack on six more runs and get a 13-5 lead in the sixth. Overall, the Leathernecks recorded eight runs off seven hits in the inning.
 
"It's not the home runs, but the hits, singles and hit by pitches that keep the scores going," said Brownlee. "Home runs can sometimes be rally killers because they clear the bases, but our guys kept grinding bats out and stretching and clawing to keep that big inning going."
 
The Leathernecks were able to add another pair of runs in the top of the eight off singles by Johnathan Fleek and Thompson to increase their lead and close out the game with a final score of 15-5.
 
Galassi led the way with three RBI, two hits and a home run. McGinnis also finished with three hits and three RBI. Thompson and Mitch Ellis added three hits apiece as Western out-hit Fort Wayne 16-7. McShane tied a WIU record drawing four walks in the game and scored a career-high four runs.

Javin Drake (3-5) got the win with three strikeouts through five innings pitched, while Sam Cottingham-Beard also had three strikeouts in three innings to earn his second save of the year.
 
Western Illinois returns on the road for a non-league matchup at Illinois State (April 25) at 6 p.m.
   
 
 
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