Carlinville, IL 4/6/2024- The Westminster College baseball team traveled to Carlinville, Illinois to take on the Blackburn College Beavers. The Blue Jays would sweep the Beavers winning game 1, 12-7, and game 2, 12-9. Blackburn falls to 3-19 on the season and 0-8 in the SLIAC. Westminster improves to 11-16 on the year and improves to 4-4 in the SLIAC. 

Game One: Box Score  

• The Blue Jays plated 2 runs in the top of the 1st and set the tone for the game.  

• Blackburn would answer with 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 3-2 lead.  

• Westminster would have a big inning in the top of the 4th scoring 4 runs. Matt Lukins got things started with a leadoff single. Chris Louie drew a walk and Donovan Bohler was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Aden Pecka singled to left field to score Lukins. Jason Pesold hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Louie. Troy Romero singled to center field to score Bohler. Romero stole second base to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in the inning. Payton Whitehead hit a sacrifice fly to score Pecka and put the Blue Jays on top 6-3.  

• Derek Archer started for the Blue Jays. He would go 7 and one-third innings, giving up 7 runs on 6 hits and struck out 4 batters.  

• The Blue Jays would put the game away, scoring 3 runs in the top of the 9th and win the game 12-7.  

Inside the Box Score:  

Austin Mayton: 3-5, 2 RBIs, 1 R 

Matt Lukins: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBIs, 2 R 

Payton Whitehead: 1-3, 2 R, 3 RBIs, 1 SB 

Game Two:  Box Score  

• Blackburn would go up 3-1 in the early stages of the game.  

• Westminster would score 3 runs in the top of the 5th to take a 4-3 lead.  

• The Beavers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to regain the lead 6-4.  

• The Blue Jays scored 4 runs in the top of 7th to go up 8-6. Troy Romero hit a double to left field to lead off the inning. Trent Rueckert reached on a 2-out error to put runners on the corners. With new life, Matt Lukins singled to right field to score Romero. Keli'I Price singled to left field to score Rueckert. Aden Pecka doubled to left to score Lukins.  

• Westminster would score 4 runs in the final two innings to win the game 12-9. 

• Bode Gebbink started on the mound, he would go 5 and two-thirds innings, giving up 6 runs on 11 hits and striking out 6. Logan McCurley would come out of the bullpen, striking out a batter and giving up 1 run on 1 hit on the way to his first win of the season. Ryan Mills would come in to close the game, striking out 4 batters, and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit to pick up his 2nd save of the season.  

Inside the Box Score: