Seven Seniors Set to Play Final Summit League Series at Home

Colan Borchers, Sam Cottingham-Beard, David Dobrinich, Ryan Dunne, Mitch Ellis, Johnathan Fleek and Pete Minella will be recognized in a pregame celebration Sunday.

LIVE STATS
VIDEO

MACOMB, Ill. – It won't be there final game inside Alfred D. Boyer Stadium, but for seven Western Illinois seniors, this weekend will mark their last Summit League series at home.

WIU baseball will play host to Fort Wayne in a three-game set beginning Friday, and Colan Borchers, Sam Cottingham-Beard, David Dobrinich, Ryan Dunne, Mitch Ellis, Johnathan Fleek and Pete Minella will be recognized in a pregame celebration Sunday.

Game one is set for 3 p.m. while the final two will start at 1 p.m.

Probable Starter
Game 1| RHP Ryan Dunne (6.11 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Phelps (5.34 ERA)
Game 2 | RHP Javin Drake (4.79 ERA) vs. LHP Damian Helm (5.88 ERA)
Game 3 | RHP Ian Koch (3.24 ERA) vs. TBD

May the 4th Be With You
Fans wearing a Star Wars costume or clothing to Friday's game will receive a prize.

Last Outing
The Leathernecks suffered their worst loss of the season in game one of the three-game set at Oral Roberts and concluded the trip with a pair of 3-1 setbacks. Western outhit ORU in each of the final two games and held a 1-0 edge in the finale until a walk-off home run in the 10th inning settled the score.

Koch'N
Ian Koch pitched a no-decision in the Leathernecks' series finale at ORU where he allowed no earned runs in eight innings of play.

The junior righty leads the team in innings pitched (66.2) and ERA (3.24), ranking third in The Summit League in both categories.

He's pitched eight innings in back-to-back starts and hasn't allowed an earned run in either.

100
Head Coach Ryan Brownlee is one win away from 100 in his career. He joined Western before the start of the 2013 season and currently ranks fourth all-time in program history in wins.

Postseason Implications
Following this weekend's play, two Summit League series remain on the Leathernecks' regular season schedule. The top four teams in league standings will clinch a berth to the Summit League Tournament and Western is currently in fifth place.

WIU travels to South Dakota State and Omaha to close out the year.

Current Standings
Oral Roberts | 16-5 (Summit League)
South Dakota State | 10-8 (SL)
Omaha | 9-9 (SL)
North Dakota State | 9-10 (SL)
Western Illinois | 7-10 (SL)
Fort Wayne | 6-15 (SL)

Scouting the Opposition
The Mastodons took game two of their set against South Dakota State and recently swept Omaha.

Travis Upp brings home the most runs with a team-high 21 RBIs on 37 hits. He's followed by Shannon Baker who's recording 19 and 36, respectively.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#16 Colan Borchers: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#42 Sam Cottingham-Beard: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#44 Javin Drake: P; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#35 Ryan Dunne: P; 6' 3"; Senior; R/R

#10 Mitch Ellis: INF; 6' 1"; Senior; B/R

#3 Johnathan Fleek: INF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#23 Ian Koch: P; 6' 4"; Junior; R/R

#26 Pete Minella: LHP; 6' 2"; Junior; L/L

Players Mentioned

#16 Colan Borchers
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#42 Sam Cottingham-Beard
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#44 Javin Drake
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: P

#35 Ryan Dunne
: 6' 3"; Senior; R/R
: P

#10 Mitch Ellis
: 6' 1"; Senior; B/R
: INF

#3 Johnathan Fleek
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#23 Ian Koch
: 6' 4"; Junior; R/R
: P

#26 Pete Minella
: 6' 2"; Junior; L/L
: LHP