Kaczmarski triples USI to an extra-inning win

Kaczmarski triples USI to an extra-inning win

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Courtesy: Ray Simmons, USI Sports Information

BOX SCORE 

EVANSVILLE, Ind.  – University of Southern Indiana junior second baseman Ryan Kaczmarski (Mishawaka, Indiana) tripled in three runs in the top of the 12th to propel the 14th-ranked Screaming Eagles to an 8-6 victory over Saint Joseph’s College Friday night at the USI Baseball Field. USI rises to 31-15 overall and 23-8 in the GLVC, while Saint Joseph’s College falls to 22-22-1, 15-16 GLVC.
 
The victory also moves the Eagles to within one win of the GLVC East Division crown. The regular season championship would be the fourth in a row for USI.
 
The Eagles and Pumas slugged it out for 11 innings with neither team gaining the advantage for very long. SJC had the early 2-0 and 3-1 leads before USI came back to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth and a 5-4 lead in the sixth. The Pumas tied the game 5-5 in the seventh and it would remain that way until the 12th.
 
The three-run rally in the 12th started with senior leftfielder Michael Huling (South Bend, Indiana) singling with one out. He advanced to third when sophomore third baseman Reece Rounder (Evansville, Indiana) and senior first baseman Adam Enright (Hammond, Indiana) walked to load the bases.
 
After a strikeout by junior catcher Jarrod Rose (Mishawaka), Kaczmarski tripled past a diving SJC leftfielder Aric Marquardt to clear the bases and give USI an 8-5 lead. The Pumas loaded the bases in the bottom half of the 12th, scoring once, before junior right-hander Silas Dill (Bernie, Missouri) shut the door for his second win of the year.
 
Dill (2-0) pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits to get the win.
 
Senior right-hander Trevor Leach (Danville, Indiana) started for the Eagles and went six innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on 10 hits and three walks. He was followed by senior right-hander Jared Canterbury (Petersburg, Illinois), who pitched a solid 4.1 innings and scattered a pair of hits.
 
Leach, Canterbury, and Dill struck out four batters each in the win.
 
The Eagles and the Pumas continue the four-game series with a doubleheader Saturday at 3 p.m. The series concludes a single game at noon Sunday.