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9
Western Illinois WIU 1-1
18
Winner Austin Peay APSU 1-1
Western Illinois WIU
1-1
9
Final
18
Austin Peay APSU
1-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 3 0 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 9 6 0
Austin Peay APSU 5 1 5 3 3 0 0 1 X 18 18 0

W: DEVINE, Andrew (1-0) L: Humphrey, Billy (0-1)

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

W: HAMPU, Tyler (1-0) L: Telford, Mason (0-1) S: KENNEDY-HAYES, Titan (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Fall Twice in Double Header

MACOMB, IL – Home runs were no strangers to the ballpark as Western Illinois and Austin Peay combined for 11 of them during Sunday's doubleheader. The Leathernecks fell in game one 18-9 and in game two 7-6 as they move to 1-2 on the season.

Game 1
The offense came out early in game one of the double headers as Maxton Polad and Cesar Franco drew one-out walks, giving Adam Juran an opportunity with a running in scoring position. Just like he did on Friday, Juran sent a ball over the left field fence, giving WIU an early 3-0 lead. Austin Peay responded with five runs in the first and a run in the second, pushing their lead out to 6-3.

The home run ball came back into play for Western Illinois in the top of the third inning as Cesar Franco homered down the right-field line, cutting the deficit to two at 6-4. Austin Peay had a response as they broke open the game to 14-4 over the next two innings.

Western Illinois would get back on the scoreboard in the 5th inning off the bat of Liam Bushey with a solo shot. The Leathernecks offense was held relatively quiet until the 7th inning. J.R. Heavilin led off the inning with a double, and Kyree Alexander and Bushey drew walks to load the bases with one out. With Maxton Polad at the plate in a 2-0 count, the redshirt sophomore drove the ball over the left field fence for a grand slam as WIU cut the lead to 17-9.
Austin Peay added a run in the 8th as they took game one 18-9.

Western Illinois collected six hits on the day, all for extra bases. Juran and Polad led the offense for the second straight game as they combined to drive in for seven of the nine runs. WIU drew seven walks and only left three on base.

Game 2
Austin Peay struck first in game two on Sunday, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Leatherneck's bats woke up in inning number two as Kyree Alexander hit a two-run home run, tying the game at two. Tyler Kapraun kept dealing, allowing just three runs throughout his 4.2 innings of work. 

Down 3-2 in the top of the fifth, Cesar Franco stepped up to plate with two outs and Maxton Polad and Liam Bushey on base and drove a ball through the right side of the infield as WIU marched from behind for the second time to even the game at three. Austin Peay threatened in the bottom half of the fifth, but Chase Golden came in and shut the door.

Once again trailing by one (4-3) in the seventh, J.R. Heavilin led off the inning with a base hit. Alexander followed with his second hit of the day, putting WIU with the tying run in scoring position. After a Liam Bushey walk loaded the bases, Cesar Franco would drive in the tying run on a fielder's choice. Austin Peay would have an error on the play that allowed Alexander to score from second as WIU saw themselves in front for the first time at 5-4.

Austin Peay did not let Western Illinois celebrate as long as they would score two in the bottom of the seventh and one in the eighth, taking a 7-5 lead into the ninth inning. The Leathernecks would threaten in the ninth as they loaded the bases with zero outs. Unfortunately, WIU could only scrape across one run as they fell 7-6.

J.R. Heavilin, Cesar Franco, and Kyree Alexander led the way, each having two hits. Franco and Alexander both had two RBIs as well. Maxton Polad was the only other Leatherneck to collect a base hit. Western Illinois drew nine walks as a team.

Western Illinois Baseball returns next week as they head to Millington, TN, for a neutral site series with Saint Louis University.
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