The Blackburn Beavers dropped two games to the Greenville Panthers in a doubleheader SLIAC matchup, that took place on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019, at Greenville University in Greenville, Illinois.
The Beavers jumped on the Panthers early in the first game, as senior Ryan Steen blasted a solo homerun into left center, giving Blackburn a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the second inning. The Panthers answered quickly, stringing together multiple hits to strike back. Tucker Rappe layed down a bunt that was thrown away by the Beavers, allowing Sam Hodges to score. This tied the game up at 1-1. After a scoreless half inning for the Beavers, the Panthers continued to score in the bottom of the third. Klaiton Wolff singled up the middle, allowing Ryan Taylor to score, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead. After walks by the Beavers, Tucker Rappe came up to the plate and hit a 3-RBI double into right center, scoring Torbeck, Hodges and Wolff. With Rappe waiting on second, left fielder Clarence Falls for the Panthers swung and singled to third base, allowing Rappe to score. By this point, the Panthers were sitting with a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the third. The game remained calm until life was erupted in the Beaver dugout in the top of the sixth, when the Beavers loaded the bases. Junior Sammy Gordon was on first, with senior Jonathan Stepp on second and Steen on third. A wild pitch allowed Steen to score and moved Stepp and Gordon up. Freshman Mitchell Binder then singled up the middle, allowing both Stepp and Gordon to score. However, this would be the last scores for the Beavers, as Panthers reliever Hunter Cullum came in and shut down the next Beaver batters. Closer Klaiton Wolff kept the Beavers off the board in the top of the seventh, securing the win for the Panthers. Adam Lamb got the win for the Panthers. He pitched five and a third of an inning, allowing only four runs and striking out six. Senior Dalton Fisher took the loss for the Beavers, pitching six innings, allowing five earned runs and nine hits. The Panthers ran away with a win in the first game by a final score of 6-4.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Panthers jumped on the Beavers early. After Ryan Taylor reached second base on a hit, Klaiton Wolff scored him on a single up the middle, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Then, after keeping the Beavers off the board, the Panthers extended their lead in the bottom of the second. Clarence Falls doubled into left field, scoring Parker Panich. Austin Lawrence for the Panthers then bunted into a single, allowing Falls to score on an error by the Beavers. Taylor then came up to the plate and hit an RBI groundout to sophomore second baseman Christian Padilla, allowing Lawrence to score. By this point, the Panthers had a 4-0 lead. The bottom of the third was the same story, as Greenville continued their hitting game. Torbeck singled to the left side of the field, which scored Sam Hodges. Torbeck advanced to second on the throw to first. Mark Islas then doubled down the right field line, which scored Torbeck and left the Panthers with a runner on second. After the bottom of the third, the score was 6-0, Greenville. The Beavers were quiet at the plate until the top of the sixth inning. After reaching second base on a shot over the center fielder, Stepp scored on a single by freshman Logan Presley. After junior Austin Presley reached second, following Logan Presley getting out, Sammy Gordon singled down the right field line, allowing Austin Presley to score. The score was 6-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. The Panthers gained an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, when Clarence Falls singled into right field, allowing Parker Panich to score. The Beavers headed into the top of the seventh down 7-2. Freshman Trevor Platt singled into left field to start the inning, followed by Steen advancing him to third. Jonathan Stepp then flew out to deep center field, scoring Platt. Steen advanced to second on the throw, but would remain their as the Panthers kept the Beavers off the board after this run. In the top of the ninth, Logan Presley delivered another RBI, which scored Christian Padilla. However, closer Austin Rexroad shut down the remaining batters, giving Greenville the win. The final score was 7-4. Senior Lowell Schwartz took the loss for the Beavers, pitching three innings, allowing five runs and striking out one. Sam Alender got the win for Greenville, pitching five and one third innings, allowing two runs and striking out five.
The Beavers will play another doubleheader tomorrow, on March 24th, against the visiting Wisconsin University-Stout Blue Devils. The games will take place at noon and 3:00 p.m., at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois.