VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team took the field at Jerry Blemker Field for one last time during the 2022 Spring regular season Saturday afternoon and did not disappoint on Sophomore Recognition Day.
Vincennes picked up two wins and completed the four-game weekend sweep over John Wood, winning game one of the day 6-2 and taking game two 12-0 in five innings.
VU got on the board first in game one of the day when sophomore Ryan Bartley (Tuscola, Ill.) led off the third inning with a single.
Bartley would later steal second and score on an RBI single by freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.).
Vincennes would add another run in the inning when sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) drove in sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.) to give the Trailblazers an early 2-0 lead.
VU would add more to their lead in the fourth, scoring four runs in the inning on a two-RBI single by VanLannen and a sacrifice fly by Evans. Sophomore Josiah Sizemore (Cambridge City, Ind.) also scored in the inning on a wild pitch as Vincennes held a 6-0 advantage.
John Wood would attempt to mount a late comeback, scoring a pair of runs in the sixth, but were unable to cut into the VU lead as the Trailblazers took game one of the day 6-2 and clinch the No. 6 seed in next week's Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) tournament.
Freshman Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) got the start on the mound in game one of the day and had a really impressive outing on the mound, throwing six plus innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three.
Freshman Eli Steimel (Sullivan, Ind.) entered the game in the seventh to close out the game, throwing one inning of hitless baseball and striking out one batter.
VU looked to close out the regular season strong in game two of the day and wasted little time getting going at the plate as the first three batters of the game (Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.), Connor VanLannen and Peyton Lane) all reached on singles to start the bottom of the first.
All three Trailblazer batters would come around to score in the inning, one on a sacrifice fly by freshman Jordan Roth (Delphi, Ind.) as VU opened up game two with a 3-0 lead.
Vincennes added more to their lead in the second, with Ryan Bartley leading off with a single and scoring on a wild pitch.
Ethan Burdette and Peyton Lane would each score their second runs of the game later in the inning on a two-RBI triple by Colton Evans that gave VU a 6-0 lead after two innings of play.
The Trailblazers continued to pile on in the third, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four runs in the inning, including Burdette's third run in as many innings as VU held a commanding 10-0 lead.
VU would score again in the fourth, plating a pair of runs with back-to-back doubles by Bartley and freshman Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.).
John Wood looked to avoid the run rule loss in the fifth, loading the bases with one out before Vincennes closed out the game on a 9-3-6 double play to come away with the 12-0 win to close out the regular season.
Freshman Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) took the mound in game two and threw a very efficient four and one-third innings, allowing only three hits and striking out three on just 44 pitches.
Freshman Caleb Moore (Wentzville, Mo.) closed out the game, getting the final two outs on the fly ball double play without allowing a hit.
"I'm extremely proud of the way our guys battled all weekend," VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. "Especially our sophomores. These two games today were complete team victories."
"Knowing that we had clinched our spot in the tournament yesterday, our goal as a team game-by-game was to just improve our seed," VU sophomore shortstop and Northern Kentucky commit Peyton Lane said. "We were playing more loose out there today and I thought it was a much more fun way to play baseball when we are all having fun. No one was getting down, everybody was picking each other up in the dugout constantly, so it was a great way as a team to go into next week the way we are playing."
"I thought we played great this weekend as a team," VU sophomore two-way player Connor VanLannen said. "Everybody really stepped up and played their part this weekend. Hopefully we keep it going next week and string some things together in the tournament and have a good run."
Sophomore everyday centerfield Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) did not play Saturday after exiting game one Friday after aggravating a knee injury.
Long closed out the regular season with an impressive .392 batting average, with nine doubles, four home runs and 24 runs batted in from his usually spot near the top of the VU batting order.
Long hopes to be back for next week's conference tournament, but really liked how the guys behind him stepped up this weekend, "Our team is really, really good at stepping up, especially our younger guys. It's tough that I went down yesterday, but we have guys that can fill the spots in the outfield well and they do a great job of stepping up when they are called upon. They all do a really good job of being good teammates, keeping others guys up and making sure everybody stays locked in to what's going on on the field."
The Vincennes baseball team closes out the 2022 Spring regular season with a record of 25-30, with a 15-17 record in MWAC Conference play, as the Trailblazers earn the No. 6 seed in next week's Conference baseball tournament.
The tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, May 18, with VU's opponent and game time still to be announced. The tournament will be held at Corn Crib Stadium, also known as 'The Corn Crib', in Normal, Ill.
"We all have each other's backs, through thick and thin," Lane added. "We've gone through a lot this year. We've played in a lot of games where we've had our backs against the wall and the biggest thing with this team is that we know we all have each other's backs as we head into the tournament."
"Hopefully I can just play for my teammates next week when it's my turn on the mound or at the plate," VanLannen added. "The team usually expects me to do well and hopefully I can carry what I've done this season into hopefully pitching well next week."
"Whether I'm playing or not next week, I just hope we are playing as a team and try to make it as long as we can in the tournament," Long added. "I hope we play every game to the very end, play every game with all of our heart and just compete day in and day out, all throughout the tournament and just try to make it as deep as we can."
BOX SCORE
GAME ONE
John Wood – 000 002 0 – 2
VU (24-30, 14-17) – 002 400 x – 6
VINCENNES HITTING
2B – VanLannen, Sizemore. RBI – VanLannen 2, Evans 2, Lane. SF – Evans. SB – VanLannen, Evans, Lane, Coy, Bartlett, Bartley 2.
GAME TWO
John Wood – 000 00 – 0
VU (25-30, 15-17) – 334 2x – 12
VINCENNES HITTING
2B – Williams, Egger, Bartley. 3B – Evans. RBI – Lane, Evans 3, Roth, Bartley. SF – Roth. SB – Lane, VanLannen.
