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Western Illinois University Athletics

Drue Galassi
Sarah Elsner
4
Winner Western Illinois WIU 14-25, 11-10 Summit
3
South Dakota State SDSU 15-26, 13-9 Summit
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
14-25, 11-10 Summit
4
Final
3
South Dakota State SDSU
15-26, 13-9 Summit
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 9 2
South Dakota State SDSU 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 7 5

W: Mikel, Jordan (3-0) L: Alex Marro (2-2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

A 14-Inning Win

The Leathernecks came out on top, but it took 14 innings to decide a winner in Saturday’s series opener at SDSU.

BROOKINGS, S.D. – It took 14 innings to decide a winner in Saturday's Summit League series opener between the Western Illinois and South Dakota State baseball teams. The game marked the longest this season for the Leathernecks and ended in a 4-3 victory. 

Jordan Mikel earned the win in three innings of relief, and Mitch Ellis and Justin Fitzpatrick tacked in the go-ahead runs. 

"My curveball was getting over the plate, so I was trying to keep pounding strikes. A few got away from me, but I still was able to do my part, for the most part," said Mikel. "This feels amazing. I'm typically a snake when it comes to wins, but this one was pretty legit. I went three innings; I think I earned this one." 

In the 14th inning, a pair of errors helped the Jackrabbits load the bases with one out, but Mikel never lost his composure. A run scored but he finished the game with a fly out and ground out. 

"I trusted my team. Even after the errors, I knew they were going to make plays and keep it up. I just knew they were going to have my back," said Mikel. 

Eight of Ryan Dunne's 10 pitches in the first inning were strikes. He worked the frame for two strikeouts, which led to nine by the end of his appearance and didn't allow a baserunner until a 3-2 walk in the fourth inning. 

The Leathernecks jumped out to an early advantage in the third inning and saw the game tied at 1-1 by the end of the sixth. In comparison to SDSU, Western had several opportunities to break the game open but went 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. 

Bailey Montgomery singled up the middle to score WIU's first run of the game, and Drue Galassi dropped a perfect bunt in the eighth to regain the team's edge. The advantage, however, didn't last long as the second stalemate occurred after a play at the plate in the bottom of the inning. Steve McShane gunned a perfect throw from left field, but the SDSU runner slid under the tag to bring the score to 2-all. The Leathernecks went on to conclude the inning by catching a Jackrabbit stealing home.

There were two on for Galassi when he drilled a 0-0 pitch to the warning track, but it fell just shy of clearing the left field fence for the final out of the 10th. The play marked Western's best chance to score in extras until the 14th inning where action picked up with Dillon Sears reaching on a leadoff error. 

He advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch before scoring on Ellis' base hit. Fitzpatrick entered the game as a pinch runner, and on his very first at-bat, he extended Western's lead with an RBI-single.  

Colan Borchers pitched a season-high 3.2 innings with two hits and a career-high five strikeouts while Mikel finished the game with three innings and two hits. Neither allowed an earned run. 

The Leathernecks will conclude the series Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. 
 
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