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Western Illinois University Athletics

WIU Baseball
6
UT Martin UTM 8-16, 1-2 OVC
7
Winner Western Illinois WIU 6-15, 2-1 OVC
UT Martin UTM
8-16, 1-2 OVC
6
Final
7
Western Illinois WIU
6-15, 2-1 OVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UT Martin UTM 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 6 10 2
Western Illinois WIU 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 2 X 7 9 2

W: Telford, Mason (1-1) L: WAGER, Zach (0-3) S: Kratz, Caden (6)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois Earns Opening Conference Series Win for First Time Since 2018

MACOMB, IL - With two outs in the eighth inning, Trevor Leon crept down the third baseline, looking for an opportunity to score. That opportunity came two pitches later on a wild pitch, as Leon scored what would be the game-winning run. Western Illinois took game three 7-6 against UT Martin. Western Illinois moves to 2-1 in OVC play and 6-15 overall.

Western Illinois had to battle from behind all day in the rubber match with UT Martin. The Skyhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead after plating a pair of runs in the first inning. WIU clawed back in the second. With runners on the corners, Brock Lummus flared a ball into shallow right field. Adam Juran and Kyree Alexander, who reached via a hit by a pitch and an error earlier in the inning, were off on the crack of the bat. Juran scored easily, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Alexander rounded second and headed to third base, drawing a throw from the Skyhawk's right fielder. The ball would beat Alexander to third but skipped away from the third basemen, allowing Alexander to advance home and tie the game at 2-2.

Both teams stayed scoreless in the third inning but returned to the scoreboard in the fourth. After UT Martin scratched across a pair of runs in the top half, the Leathernecks responded in the bottom half. Back-to-back one-out walks by J.R. Heavilin and Brock Lummus put WIU with a runner in scoring position. Leon would single through the right side, loading the bases, and Chris Hege worked an RBI walk to bring WIU within one at 4-3.

Western Illinois's defense worked around a pair of Skyhawk baserunners in the top of the fifth, and then the offense got back rolling. A pair of one-out singles started the Leatherneck rally, as Juran advanced to third. Juran scored on a wild pitch that advanced Alexander to second base. Lummus put the Leathernecks in front with a single to right field, and WIU held a 5-4 lead after five.

UT Martin did not trail long as they tied the game in the top half of the sixth inning. Both teams stayed deadlocked at 5-5 until the bottom of the eighth inning. Lummus started everything off with a leadoff double down the left field line. He came around to score as Leon singled a ball right back up the middle, giving Western Illinois a 6-5 lead. The Leathernecks offense was not done as Max Slavens laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Leon. Leon advanced to third on a ground out and came around for a Leatherneck insurance run on a passed ball. UT Martin found a solo home run in the ninth inning, but Caden Kratz shut the door en route to his sixth save of the season.

Brock Lummus went 3-3 out of the seven-hole for WIU, delivering two RBIs and scoring a run. Adam Juran and Trevor Leon both had multi-hit days, going 2-3 and 2-4. Max Slavens and Kyree Alexander had the other hits, and the WIU offense totaled nine.

Jacob Greenan, Colton Kachinsky, Mason Telford, and Caden Kratz were dominant out of the bullpen on Saturday afternoon. The Leatherneck bullpen allowed only two hits, striking out four over 3.0 innings of work.
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