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Western Illinois University Athletics

Chase VanDerGinst
Rachael Keating
5
Western Illinois WIU 1-11
8
Winner Butler BUTLER 6-7
Western Illinois WIU
1-11
5
Final
8
Butler BUTLER
6-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 9 2
Butler BUTLER 0 0 0 4 2 0 2 0 X 8 9 1

W: MACCAULEY, John (2-0) L: Warkentien, Jace (1-2) S: DREES, Derek (2)

5
Western Illinois WIU 1-12
9
Winner Butler BUTLER 7-7
Western Illinois WIU
1-12
5
Final
9
Butler BUTLER
7-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 5 6 5
Butler BUTLER 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 9 9 1

W: VORE, Jon (2-1) L: Carberry, Jack (0-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Baseball Drops Both Games Of Doubleheader

Errors proved to be difference makers in both matchups.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND.- Western Illinois baseball (1-12) fell in both of its games to the Butler Bulldogs (7-7) in the Sunday doubleheader. Butler came back from an early deficit to take game one and used a hot start in the first two innings to take game two.
 
Game 1: Butler 8, Western Illinois 5
 
Western Illinois jumped on Butler immediately with a leadoff walk and an infield single to put the pressure on. Nick Mitchell delivered the game's first run with a single to left to score Kory Olsen and give WIU a 1-0 lead. Dillon Sears scored soon after on a wild pitch to put the Leathernecks ahead by two.
 
Later in the first, Western Illinois used a sacrifice bunt from Jack Sievers to advance runners to second and third, which set up Derek Botaletto for a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 Leathernecks. Matt Santarelli delivered his first collegiate hit, which led to his first collegiate RBI to score Toby Allred and give Western Illinois a 4-0 lead.
 
Botaletto scored on an interference by Butler in the top of the third to give WIU a five-run cushion.
 
Butler wouldn't let Western Illinois be comfortable for long, thanks to a four-run fourth inning. A leadoff double by the Bulldogs gave them their first extra-base hit of the game, and they followed it up with a single to right to get on the board. After a two-out walk, Butler's next batter flipped the momentum with a three-run home run to right to get the Bulldogs back within a run.
 
Butler took their first lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to mistakes by WIU. Butler's first two batters of the inning reached on a pair of errors by Western Illinois to put runners on second and third. A double in Butler's next at-bat scored both runners to give them a 6-5 lead.
 
Western Illinois had its first two hitters in the seventh retired, but a single from Sievers kept the inning alive. An error by Butler allowed Botaletto to reach safely, and a walk from Santarelli loaded the bases. However, Butler got out of the jam with a groundout to second to keep their lead intact.
 
Butler made the Leathernecks pay for the missed opportunity by adding a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead.
 
WIU had runners at the corners with two outs in the ninth, but Butler closed the deal with a strikeout to take game one.
 
Despite suffering the loss, Jace Warkentien gave Western Illinois quality innings in his start. Warkentien pitched a season-high six and two-thirds innings and struck out a season-high eight batters. Jack Bell gave the Leathernecks another solid relief appearance with one and a third innings, no runs, two hits, and a strikeout.
 
Western Illinois saw contribution from almost everyone in their lineup, finishing the game with eight of nine starters getting at least one hit.
 
Game 2: Butler 9, Western Illinois 5
 
Game two was a complete opposite start for Western Illinois. A hit by pitch, single, and walk loaded the bases for Butler with two outs, and they used a single up the middle to score two of their baserunners to take a 2-0 lead in the first. A throwing error by Western Illinois on a stolen base attempt brought the third run of the inning for Butler.
 
A pair of walks and an error in the top of the second loaded the bases again for Butler, which eventually turned into five runs. Butler's scoring began with an infield single to take a 4-0 lead. A wild pitch and a throwing error by Western Illinois brought in two more runs for the Bulldogs to gain six-run advantage. Butler followed that up with a triple and a groundout to third for two more runs to take a commanding 8-0 lead. Butler went ahead 9-0 in the bottom of the third with an RBI single.
 
Western Illinois wasn't fazed despite the early deficit and used a pair of big innings to get back in the game.
 
A walk and throwing error put runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth for WIU, and the first run came in thanks to a groundout by Gage Cruz to score Nick Mitchell. Jack Sievers brought in Toby Allred during the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 9-2 ballgame.
 
Western Illinois followed up their fourth inning with a three-run fifth thanks to five straight hitters reaching safely. A leadoff walk from Derek Botaletto and a single from Jackson Hugus put runners on first and second with no outs. After a pitching change by Butler, Kory Olsen singled to left to score Botaletto for his sixth RBI of the season. Dillon Sears followed that up with an RBI single to right to make the score 9-4. Allred used a groundout to second to score Olsen to bring WIU back within four runs.
 
Butler's bullpen managed to regroup and hold Western Illinois scoreless during their final four innings of offense to take game two.
 
Western Illinois' bullpen was a major bright spot in game two, combining for one of the best outings of the season. The squad of Johnny Beck, Jacob Greenan, Jake Armstrong, and Will Jaynes pitched five innings, allowed no runs, just one hit, no walks, and struck out four.
 
Jackson Hugus had a great day as the nine hitter, going 2-4 with a double and a run scored. The freshman also led the defense with nine putouts behind the plate. 
 
Western Illinois concludes its series with Butler tomorrow with game three of the series beginning at 3 p.m. CT.
 
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