Fulton, Mo. - With two wins over Blackburn College on Thursday evening, the Westminster baseball team extends their winning streak to five games. The 6-1 and 7-6 wins bring the Westminster Blue Jays to 14-8 on the season and 9-4 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC).
Game One
Blackburn acted as the home team in the doubleheader, so the Blue Jays were at the plate first. Junior Tyler Branneky started off the game with a two-run home run in the first inning.
Blackburn put up a run in the third inning with a RBI single, but the Blue Jays grabbed the third out before any damage was done.
In the top of the seventh, the Blue Jays added four runs to the board. Freshman Nick Bohlmann came up with one on and two outs and hit a RBI double to right field. Two more got on base, bringing bases loaded with Ty. Branneky at the plate. He ripped a double down the left field line, bringing in the three runners.
The Blue Jays then forced Blackburn to leave two stranded on base in the bottom of the seventh to win 6-1.
Junior pitcher Collin Brinker (2-2) grabbed the win from the mound. He pitched six innings and struck out six. Junior Will Miller came in as relief and pitched the final inning.
Ty. Branneky dominated the Blue Jay offense with three hits and five RBI. Junior A.C. Long led the defense with seven putouts.
Game Two
Game two was a back-and-forth game, but the Blue Jays were able to pull out the 7-6 win.
Ty. Branneky started the scoring again with a RBI single to bring in senior Cam Backes. Blackburn quickly tied up the game in the bottom of the first with a RBI single, and they took the 2-1 lead in the second inning with another RBI single.
A RBI double by junior Deion Hughes in the third inning brought Backes home again to tie up the game at 2-2, but Blackburn went back in the lead with a run scored in the fifth and sixth innings.
In the top of the seventh, senior Tim Chambliss cracked a three RBI triple to take the 5-4 lead.
The Blue Jays walked in a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 5-5, but in the top of the eighth they added two runs to the board. Hughes hit a sacrifice fly to right field, and Backes tagged up and crossed home plate. Freshman Adam Mundle later scored on sophomore Connor Hager's RBI single.
The Blue Jays headed into the bottom of the ninth inning with the 7-5 advantage, but Blackburn grabbed a run on a wild pitch to bring the game within one run. With one out and a runner on third, Hughes threw two strikeouts to end the game with the 7-6 win.
Sophomore pitcher Jake Lund (1-2) grabbed the win on the mound. He pitched 2.2 innings and struck out seven. Hughes was credited with the save after pitching the final inning. Sophomore Seth Lehmen pitched the first 5.1 innings of the game and struck out four.
Chambliss, Backes and Hughes led the offense with two hits each. Chambliss also grabbed three RBI. Long led the defense with 11 putouts.
The Blue Jays head to Mount Pleasant, Iowa for a three-game division series with Iowa Wesleyan on Saturday, April 18. They will play the doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m., followed by a nine-inning game on Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m.
