LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Spalding University baseball team swept both games of their doubleheader against in-state foe Centre College, 10-8 and 4-2, Sunday evening to improve to 6-4 on the season.
The Golden Eagle Nine scored three runs in the bottom of the 6th inning, and
Jimi Keating closed the game to earn the save and SU the 10-8 win.
Ian Woodall led Spalding at the plate going 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Drew Beckman and
Korie Vire brought in two runs apiece.
Chance Brinley (1-1) earned the win, pitching 2.2 innings allowing two runs, zero earned, while striking out and walking two batters.
Centre took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first; Alex Richardson reached on an error allowing Tanner Sauley to score. SU answered with three runs in the home half of the inning.
Nic Chafin led off the inning with a single to left field and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Jacob Woodruff reached on a walk. Chafin evened the score, coming home on a passed ball and Woodruff advanced to third following a dropped third strike.
Ryan Mosby ripped a triple to left field scoring Woodruff, and Mosby scored on a Vire ground out to second.
The Colonels knotted the score at 3-3 in the top of the second. Tanner Sauley drove in Charlie Grigsby and Kyle Lewis with a double to right center. The Eagles matched them in the bottom of the inning.
Blake Patterson scored following an error on the
catcher that allowed Woodall to reach first, and Woodall came home on an error at third to give SU a 5-0 lead through two.
Centre scored three runs in the top of the third to take a 6-5 lead. A
Drew Beckmann single through the middle brought Mosby and Vire across the dish to put the Eagles back out front 7-6.
In the 5th inning, Woodall missed his mark on a throw down to third attempting to catch Grant Herald stealing, but the throw sailed into left field and Herald scored to tie the score at 7. Grigsby scored his second run of the game to give Centre the lead on a Sauley groundout to short.
A three run bottom of the 6th put the Eagles out front for good. A Woodruff leadoff triple put the tying run 90 feet away, and
Brad Speek brought it across the plate with a single to left. Following a pitching change, Mosby grounded out to first, but an error by the first baseman allowed Speek to progress to third. A deep sacrifice fly to center field by Vire allowed Speek to score the game-winner.
Kam Bruner homered to right center to give SU a two run lead, and Keating and the defense held strong to earn the Eagles the 10-8 victory.
In the second game, Spalding jumped out to a 1-0 lead and went on to win 4-2.
Speek led SU hitters going 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Beckmann, Patterson and Vire each drove in a run.
Kyle Olliges (2-1) earned the win, holding the Colonels to two runs, one earned on five hits, while striking out eight batters and walking two.
SU got on the board first,
Blake Patterson singled to left field scored
Korie Vire who reached on a walk and stole second to put himself in scoring position.
Centre tied the score at 1-1 in the third when Casey Klein scored following an error at short. However, Spalding responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead.
Brad Speek tripled scoring
Nic Chafin from second, and
Korie Vire brought Speek across the plate with a single to center field.
Centre's Grant Herald scored from second on a Grigsby single in the 5th inning to cut the SU lead to one run, but Beckmann singled scoring Bruner in the 6th inning to give Spalding a two run lead heading into the seventh and Olliges forced a ground out and struck out two to secure the win.
The Golden Eagle Nine will be back in action Wednesday, March 25 when they head to Crestview Hills, Ky. for a doubleheader at Thomas More College at 4:00 p.m. EST.
