TIFFIN, Ohio – A warm and sunny spring day down at Peaceful Valley saw the Heidelberg University Baseball team split a wild doubleheader with John Carroll University.
Adam McVicker crushed two bombs in a 17-15 loss in game one. HU avenged the loss by winning the nightcap, 7-3.
Heidelberg tallied 23 hits on the day, with five HU players notching double digit hits. McVicker led all Student Princes with six.
GAME ONE: JCU 17 HU 15
Down 2-0 in the third,
Garrett LaBeau hit a single and an error by the right fielder allowed two runners to score and LaBeau advanced to third.
Kyle Krummen kept the rally going with a double to right center, bringing LaBeau home.
Aidan Corrigan joined the hit parade--adding a double of his own--putting runners on second and third.
Camden Farley followed up with a single, scoring Krummen.
Still in the third,
Andrew Pokley and McVicker both singled in consecutive at bats, scoring two more runs for Heidelberg.
Reece McNeely got Pokley home with a single, capping the nine-run inning. .
The Blue Streaks, which entered the day unbeaten in OAC action, did not go quietly. The visitors scored six times in the fifth, leaving the Student Princes clinging to a one-run lead.
The Student Princes regained some momentum in the bottom of the fifth when McVicker went deep to right field for his fourth home run of the season.
After a scoreless sixth inning for both teams, JCU took the lead with a four-run seventh.
Down 12-10, but not out, Heidelberg was determined to get back into the game. They did just that as McVicker hit his second home run of the game to deep right field and tied things up at 12 in the seventh.
Unsatisfied, Krummen continued with a single that allowed LaBeau to score on a fielding error by JCU. HU posted two more runs on a Corrigan single and Farley double. The hosts took a 15-12 lead into the eighth.
Unfortunately for Heidelberg, the Blue Streaks were able to get five runs in the top of the eighth. JCU held The Berg off the board for the final six outs.
The 15 runs were the most for Heidelberg in a loss since falling to Tiffin University, 18-16, in 2002.
GAME TWO: HU 7 JCU 3
JCU got out to an early 1-0 lead off an HU error. Heidelberg got that run back in the home half of the first with a McVicker double that scored Corrigan.
The Student Princes took the lead in the second following a
Colin Small ground ball that allowed the runner on third to score. Krummen stayed hot, singling to left and plating another. HU took the 3-1 lead into the third.
The bottom of the fourth saw McNeely hit his fifth home run of the season, tying McVicker on the year.
Up 4-3 in the fifth, back-to-back singles down the left field line from Farley and McVicker gave Heidelberg two insurance runs and stretched their lead to 6-3.
HU tacked on its final run in the sixth on a Corrigan single that drove in LaBeau.
Nicolas Lavelle got the nod in game two, and had a nice showing in his first win of the season. He went 5.0 innings, giving up five hits on three runs, and fanned five in the victory.
UP NEXT:
Peaceful Valley will host again on Saturday, as the Heidelberg baseball team welcomes Otterbein (18-7, 4-3 OAC) for a doubleheader. Game one is slated for 1 p.m.
