Evansville, Ind. – The UW-Parkside baseball team overcame an early three-run deficit to earn a doubleheader split, beating Southern Indiana 6-4 in game two on Sunday. The Rangers used a trio of two-run innings to get the final game of the four-game set.
USI won the first game on Sunday, 6-1. The Rangers are now 13-22 on the year and 6-16 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Screaming Eagles wrap up the weekend at 18-17 overall and 9-13 in the league.
Parkside will begin a busy week on Wednesday when they travel to Lewis University take on the Flyers. First pitch in Romeoville is scheduled for noon. The Rangers will then head to Kentucky Wesleyan for the weekend before wrapping up their home slate on April 28-29 against Northern Kentucky.
Game One (
Box Score)
The Rangers jumped in front with a first inning run in game one a Sunday. Unfortunately they would be limited to just two base runners the rest of the way in the Screaming Eagles 6-1 victory.
Corey Stonelake got things started with a one-out single in the first.
Tyler Gieseking followed that with a hit to put two runners on.
Mike Anderson came up two batters later with a single through the left side to make it 1-0 Rangers.
But from there, USI starter Silas Dill shut down the Rangers recording 11 strikeouts over his seven innings of work.
Cody Gilles had a lead-off single in the fourth and Stonelake did the same in the sixth, but that was it for Ranger base runners in game one.
USI pounded out 10 hits while scoring in four of the final six innings to earn the win.
Andy Stochl went the distance for Parkside striking out five while allowing five earned runs.
Stonelake led the offense with two hits and a run scored.
Game Two (
Box Score)
The Screaming Eagles looked primed for the sweep scoring three runs in the first, putting the Rangers in an early hole. A Parkside error led to two of the runs being unearned against
Jacob Chandler.
But from there Chandler buckled down stranding ten runners on base in his seven innings on the hill. The Screaming Eagles put multiple runners on in six of the seven innings but Chandler was able to pitch himself out of trouble.
His work allowed the offense time to get going, which it did in the fourth.
Back-to-back hits by Anderson and
Taylor Nehls put two on with one out. The duo then executed a double steal with the throw going into center field allowing Anderson to walk home with the first run.
Two batters later
Ben Korman singled to center to make it 3-2.
The Rangers took the lead in the next inning buoyed by the top of the order.
John Brennan doubled to start the frame and immediately came home on a hit by Stonelake.
Stonelake then stole second with another errant throw allowing him to advance to third. Giesking gave Parkside the lead with a bouncer to short, making it 4-3 heading to the fifth.
In the seventh it was Brennan and Stonelake again scoring runs to open up a 6-3 lead. They singled consecutively to start the inning to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch then allowed Brennan to score the fifth run.
After a sac bunt by Gieseking, and an intentional walk to Gilles, Anderson bounced into a fielder's choice to plate Stonelake.
Alex Rejniak came on in the eighth to relieve Chandler and pitched himself out of a ninth-inning jam to earn his second save of the year.
Two straight hits started the inning before a passed ball moved them to second and third. Rejniak recorded two straight outs, with one bringing in a run, to make it 6-4.
A walk, followed by a stolen base, put the tying runs in scoring position with two away. But Rejniak coaxed a comebacker from Todd Martin to end the game and give the Rangers the win.
Stonelake once again excelled at the plate going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. He was 5-for-7 in the doubleheader.
Brennan also recorded a three-hit game going 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Chandler went seven innings scattering ten hits while allowing just one earned run. He improved to 3-2 on the season. Rejniak went two innings for the save yielding one unearned run.
