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Western Illinois University Athletics

Sam Cottingham-Beard
Brittany Howe
4
Western Illinois WIU 16-28
7
Winner Omaha OMAHA 15-34
Western Illinois WIU
16-28
4
Final
7
Omaha OMAHA
15-34
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 6 2
Omaha OMAHA 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 X 7 8 2

W: Nick Drahozal (1-0) L: Dorethy, Alex (0-3)

12
Winner Western Illinois WIU 17-28
8
Omaha OMAHA 15-35
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
17-28
12
Final
8
Omaha OMAHA
15-35
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 4 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 12 14 1
Omaha OMAHA 2 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 12 2

W: Cottingham-Beard, Sam (1-1) L: Grant Suponchick (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Cap Summit League Play with Most Wins in 12 Years

Western finished its league season with a record of 14-12, which tied for its most Summit League wins since 2006.

OMAHA, Neb. – Tying for its most league wins in 12 years, Western Illinois baseball concluded its Summit League schedule Friday at Omaha. The Leathernecks split action in a doubleheader, dropping game one, 7-4, before rebounding for a 12-8 win in game two. 

The finale settled Western's Summit League record at 14-12 which ties for the most league wins since 2006 when the team went 14-8. 

"It's all about staying together," said senior Sam Cottingham-Beard, the winning pitcher of game two. "This year, this is probably the closest I've been to the team, and the closest the team has been as a whole. Everyone's in the dugout, picking each other up and it just creates really great baseball."

Game One 
Stringing together a pair of base hits, the Leathernecks took a 4-0 lead at the top of the third inning, and the advantage stuck until a costly miscue in the sixth. A dropped third strike, which would have been the second out of the frame, instead loaded the bases and led to a Maverick grand slam. 

The home side held a 5-4 lead at the end of the inning and added a run in each of the next two for the final score. 

Western's runs were recorded on an error, a two-RBI single by Mitch Ellis and an RBI-single by Bailey Montgomery. Javin Drake pitched a no-decision in 5.1 innings, where he gave up three hits and one unearned run while striking out six. 

Game Two
The Leathernecks batted through the entire order in the first inning, and three straight two-out singles opened the door for four runs. Steve McShane struck first with a two-RBI hit to left field before Drue Galassi, and Deion Thompson rounded out the affair. The Mavericks took two runs back at the end of the inning and tacked in five more after loading the bases in the third. 

Both sides put on a show in the Summit League finale, and it was a one-run game, 8-7, in favor of the Mavs by the fifth inning. The battle was won in the seventh when Thompson sent his second home run of the series to left field, and Dillon Sears ensured it with his first career homer, a two-RBI shot, in the ninth. 

Both of Thompson's shots occurred in the seventh inning and scored two runs. 

Pitchers Sam Cottingham-Beard, Jace Warkentien and Jordan Mikel held Omaha to just one unearned run in a combined relief appearance, and Beard was credited with the win. He matched his season high in innings pitched (4.0) and allowed four hits. 

"I just knew I had to come out and throw strikes to keep the game close so our hitters could come back," said Cottingham-Beard. "We're taking it a game at a time. It doesn't matter the name on the front of the jersey. We just have to play Leatherneck baseball, and if we play like we did this weekend and the past week, we're going to be able to be pretty nice in the tournament."

The Leathernecks will conclude their regular season Sunday in a 2 p.m. ballgame at Kansas. 

The Summit League Tournament begins May 23 and will be held on the campus of Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla. 




 
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