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Western Illinois University Athletics

Johnathan Fleek
WIU Visual Productions Center
5
IOWA IOWA 27-16
7
Winner Western Illinois WIU 17-23
IOWA IOWA
27-16
5
Final
7
Western Illinois WIU
17-23
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
IOWA IOWA 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 5 11 0
Western Illinois WIU 2 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 X 7 8 0

W: Minella, Pete (3-0) L: McDonald, Cole (2-4) S: Westfahl, Nate (4)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Baseball Defeats Iowa 7-5

Johnathan Fleek drove in three runs while Roman Visintine added two RBI


PHOTO GALLERY

MACOMB, Ill. – Johnathan Fleek and Roman Visintine combined to drive in five runs, all coming with two outs, and eight pitchers combined to help Western Illinois defeat Iowa 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. The Leathernecks improved to 17-23 overall, having won nine of their last 12 games.
 
Western, avenging a 4-1 defeat to the Hawkeyes (27-16) last month, got off to a quick start. WIU starter Pete Minella (3-0) used eight pitches to retire Iowa in order in the first. Cole McDonald used two pitches to get the first two Leathernecks out in their half of the frame. Adam McGinnis and Chris Tschida both drew four-pitch walks. Fleek then cleared the bases on a shot to the left centerfield gap for a 2-0 lead.
 
Western made it 3-0 in the second. Visintine walked to lead off the inning, went to second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout. C.J. Schaeffer punched a shot through a drawn-in infield for his third RBI of the year.
 
Iowa scored twice in the third on RBI singles from Mason McCoy and Tyler Cropley. The Leathernecks responded in their half with three runs. McGinnis drew a one-out walk, Fleek singled with two outs and Deion Thompson walked to load the bases. Visintine delivered a 2-run single to right field, then later in the inning Thompson scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2.
 
The Hawkeyes got a run back in the sixth on a wild pitch, but Western responded with another two-out RBI hit from Fleek, this one scoring Steve McShane.
 
Iowa added an RBI single from Jake Adams in the seventh and solo homer from Grant Judkins in the eighth for the final margin.
 
Nate Westfahl, the eighth WIU pitcher of the game, got the final out of the eighth on a strikeout. The senior left-hander got back-to-back strikeouts to start the ninth. McCoy singled then Adams walked – the first allowed by the Leatherneck pitching staff in the game – to put the tying run on base. Westfahl got clean-up hitter Robert Neustrom on a flyball to McShane in right-centerfield to secure the win.
 
The Leathernecks returned to action after seeing their last two games rained out and last playing on Friday afternoon.
 
"We played good enough to win, you can tell we haven't played since Friday. With the time off we were a little rusty," said head coach Ryan Brownlee. "I was happy we were able to come out with a victory because we weren't as sharp. We played fine, and when you're on a roll you can pull some games out like this where if you're not on a roll it'll be tough to win that game."
 
Minella gave up one hit and struck out a batter in his scheduled two innings of work. Westfahl went the final 1.1 innings for his fourth save of the year, tying Minella for the team lead, and ninth in his career. He now moved into a tie for second-place on the all-time saves list.
 
Fleek matched a season-high of three hits and set a new personal-best with three RBI. Visintine drove in two and McGinnis went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored.
 
"Obviously this gives us a lot of momentum. It's fun to win every game, it doesn't matter who you are playing. It's fun to beat anybody. We did enough offensively. The way the wind was when the game started I didn't think seven (runs) would win that game. But luckily the wind died down because if it would have stayed like that for nine innings it would have been dicey for both sides," said Brownlee. "One pitch or two pitches could beat you, especially if you're walking guys. I think our pitchers did a pretty good job on the most part giving up just one walk on the day. We did a really good job of pounding it in there and forcing them to beat us rather than beating ourselves."
 
McDonald (2-4) was charged for two runs on a hit and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Ben Norman finished with three hits while McCoy and Cropley added two each.
 
Western returns to Summit League play this weekend with a three-game series at South Dakota State. Friday's (May 5) first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
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