Beavers Drop Two Close Games To Chicago

Beavers Drop Two Close Games To Chicago

Coming off four straight wins, the Blackburn College Baseball team were looking to extend their streak as non-conference opponent University of Chicago came to play two on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. 

The Maroons, playing in their first game of the year, scored a run in the first off a RBI double. Blackburn followed with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the first. Vinnie Birk (Swansea, Ill.) doubled and Aaron Moody (Navarino, Wis.) later singled to put runners ad second and third. Birk scored on a Matt Mokriakow (Glen Carbon, Ill.) RBI groundout while Moody scored on a single from Shane Lewis (Middleburg, Flo.).

Chicago knotted the game up in the second, though. The game remained tied until the bottom half of the fourth inning. Blackburn backstop Joey Szerletich (Pleasant Plains, Ill.) fought off some tough two-strike pitches and eventually hit a grounder to second for drive home the go-ahead run. 

The Beavers failed to close the door late in the game as Chicgo scored runs in the sixth and seventh to defeat Blackburn 4-3. The Achilles heel was six walks and three hit batsmen in just seven innings of play.

Birk and Lewis had two hits each for the Beavers while starting pitcher Jacob Baalman (Hardin, Ill.) threw five innings and gave up just one earned run. 

Game two was also a tight game. The Beavers mustered just three hits against Maroon starter Thomas Prescott. Senior Jon Lowry (Peoria Heights, Ill.) did his best to match Prescott. Lowry surrendered just two earned runs in six innings of work but failed to get run support.

Chicago scored a run in the second and tacked on another with a solo home run in the fourth.

Mokriakow led the Beavers with two hits. Doug Matas (Youngstown, Ohio) had the other knock for Blackburn.

Blackburn is back in action tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader at Monmouth beginning at noon. They will both be nine inning games. Blackburn is now 4-6 on the year.