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Western Illinois University Athletics

Drue Galassi
Sarah Twidwell
9
Western Illinois WIU 22-30
15
Winner Omaha OMAHA 29-21-1
Western Illinois WIU
22-30
9
Final
15
Omaha OMAHA
29-21-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 9 12 1
Omaha OMAHA 0 3 3 2 3 0 0 4 X 15 13 0

W: Payton Kinney (10-1) L: Drake, Javin (7-6)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Leathernecks Rally in First Round Loss to Omaha

Western’s path to the Summit League title game will require two wins through the lower bracket.

TULSA, Okla. – First round action now in the past in a 15-9 loss to Omaha Wednesday (May 22), the Western Illinois baseball team seeks to keep its Summit League Tournament appearance alive through the lower bracket. Its journey to the league title will continue Thursday at noon against the loser of No. 2 South Dakota State and No. 3 Oral Roberts. 

All nine of Western's runs were scored in the final three innings, where Drue Galassi highlighted play with a two-out, bases clearing double in the ninth.  

"It was tough at first, but it was good knowing that everyone was still locked in to the game," said Galassi. "No one gave up. We still fought in every inning and rallied to bring it to a closer game, and that was really nice to see.

"For me, I knew that I had three strikeouts on the day, but Coach [Ryan Brownlee] and all the other coaches and players, kept telling me to stay in it. We just have to keep that rally mindset going from the very beginning."   No pitcher in Western Illinois history has ever thrown more strikeouts in a single season than Javin Drake. The junior righty set the mark in the second inning of the first round matchup and also became the first Leatherneck to post 200 or more in his career since Kent Murphy did so from 1982-85. Drake currently possesses 109 Ks in the season and 204 in his three-year career. 

Unfortunately for Western, the second inning also marked the first of 11 answered runs. 

The Leathernecks had early opportunities to score, but left runners in scoring position in the first, fifth and sixth innings; each of the rallies began with two outs on the board, and the fifth saw the bases full after Diego Munoz singled to center field and Bailey Montgomery and Dillon Sears each walked. 

Hitting a team-best 3-for-5 on the day, Munoz sparked another rally with a seven-pitch at-bat that resulted in a leadoff single in the seventh. He crossed home plate on an RBI single by Kevin Raisbeck, who extended his reached base streak to 26 consecutive games, and CJ Schaeffer Jr. added another run with an RBI single of his own.

The Leathernecks scored seven in the final frame, after loading the bases for the third time.  
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