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Western Illinois University Athletics

Deion Thompson
Sarah Twidwell
9
Winner Western Illinois WIU 4-16, 3-3 SL
3
Fort Wayne FW 5-17, 1-7 SL
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
4-16, 3-3 SL
9
Final
3
Fort Wayne FW
5-17, 1-7 SL
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 1 9 12 1
Fort Wayne FW 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 8 0

W: Dunne, Ryan (1-4) L: Damian Helm (2-5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Tough Elements, Nine Runs & A Road Win

Western Illinois battled an early start, cold temps and rain en route to a 9-3 win over Fort Wayne.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Elements at Mastodon Field certainly didn't favor either team in game two of the Summit League series between Western Illinois and Fort Wayne. Saturday's matchup was moved from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m., the temperature was in the lower 40s, and it rained through the latter half of the game.

Despite the challenges, Western tallied the most runs scored this season in the 9-3 win. Bailey Montgomery and Justin Fitzpatrick both homered, while Ryan Dunne picked up his first Leatherneck win.
 
"It feels good to finally get that first W," said Dunne. "Everything was really clicking for our team today and it felt good to go out there and give us a chance. I'm happy.
 
"Our defense was going again early in the game and helped get me in a groove, but it took a lot of pressure off when we got that first run in the first inning and a couple more after that in the sixth. Our offense did well."
 
Helped by the speed of Deion Thompson, the Leathernecks attacked early to jump out to a 1-0 lead by the end of the opening inning. The leadoff hitter ran out an infield shot for a single, and stole second and third base before being brought home on a sacrifice fly by Bailey Montgomery.
 
The busy half-inning was followed by a pitching duel between Dunne and Damian Helm.
 
Action in the bottom of the fourth saw shortstop Johnathan Fleek make a solid play at the edge of the outfield, but the runner was called safe at first base for the 'Dons first hit of the day. For Helm, nine strikeouts littered the box score through five innings, before Western figured out the senior lefty in the sixth.
 
With his second double in as many games, Drue Galassi watched at second base as Montgomery sent a 2-RBI shot over the left field wall. The home run marked his first in purple and gold, and awakened the Leathernecks' offense as CJ Schaeffer went on to load the bases with a two-out walk. Fleek scored two with a double to left field.
 
The Mastadons ended the shutout with Brady Hettinger's RBI-triple to right field. An error on the relay allowed him to score and pulled things to 5-2 at the end of seven. There were no outs on the board before the hit, and Dunne left the inning with two strikeouts and a fielder's choice.
 
Highlighted by a 2-RBI single by Fleek, Dunn's offense tacked on three runs in the next frame to help secure his first win of the season. He pitched seven innings with two runs, five hits, and eight strikeouts. Alex Dorethy moved from designated hitter to reliever at the start of the eighth and saw his earned run, scored on a sacrifice fly, evened by a solo blast to right center from Fitzpatrick.
 
"I'm really happy for our guys. Hopefully this jumpstarts us," said head coach Ryan Brownlee. "We're right there; we just haven't found out who we are yet. This isn't even our full potential. Our pitching gives us a chance to be in every game, and we don't have to score a lot but we still have to score. It was disheartening yesterday to leave 12 runners on base, but our approach and at-bats pitch-to-pitch today was better."
 
The rubber game between Western and Fort Wayne is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
 
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