3/13/2024 Jacksonville, IL- The Westminster College Blue Jays baseball team traveled to Jacksonville, Illinois to face Illinois College Blueboys (10-2). Blue Jays would lose Game 1 9-14 with the Blueboys putting a 9 spot in the bottom of the 7th to end the game. In Game 2, Westminster lost 2-6; making the Blue Jays fall to (7-12) on the year.  

 Game 1 vs Illinois College: Box Score 

• Starting game 1 for the Blue Jays, Derek Archer. Archer would go 5 innings, giving up only 4 hits, 2 runs, and struck out 2 batters. A handful of Blue Jays came to relieve Archer. Charlie Schweppe, Kaleb Hinkle-Pruett, Matt Trout, Logan McCurley, Brian Henke. Together, the relievers gave up 12 hits and struck out 4. 

• In the third inning, the Blue Jays got the offense started with an Austin Mayton single to left center to score senior shortstop Payton Whitehead. In the bottom of the third inning, the Blue Jays would give up 2 runs.  

• In the top of the 4th sophomore Troy Romero singled to center field scoring Matt Lukins and Chris Louie. Romero also led the offense in the sixth inning with a single to right field scoring two. Ayden Pecka and Jason Pesold would be the two runners who scored.  

• The Blue Jays would give up 11 runs in two innings to give the Blueboys a 13-8 lead. 

Inside the Box Score: 

• Troy Romero: 2-5, 4 RBIs, 1 R, 1 K 

• Austin Mayton: 3-5, 2 RBIs, 1 R 

• Payton Whitehead: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2B 

• Keli'i Price: 2-4, 1 RBI, HR, 1 R, 1 BB 

Game 2 vs Illinois College: Box Score 

• On the bump for game 2, Bode Gebbink gets the call. Gebbink went 3 innings facing 16 batters, giving up 4 hits, giving up 5 runs, and striking out 2 batters. Four Blue Jays came in to relieve Gebbink. Same Owen would get the call first. Owen went 1 inning, faced 5 batters, and got 1 strike out. Second out of the pen, Ben Kennebeck came in and pitched 2 innings, giving up 3 hits and 1 run. Next, Hayden Sanborn came in and pitched 1 inning, faced 4 batters, and gave up 1 hit. To finish the game Domenic Nordmann pitched 1 inning, struck out a batter, and walked 1 batter. 

• Offensively, the Blue Jays offense struggled. Leading the offense for the Blue Jays were Romero, Whitehead, Lukins, and William Crabtree. Together, they got 5 hits and 2 runs. The whole Blue Jay lineup struck out 8 times.  

 Inside the Box Score 

• Troy Romero: 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB 

• Payton Whitehead: 2-5, 1 K 

• Matt Lukins: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI 

• William Crabtree: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB 

 The Westminster College Blue Jays baseball team will have a break after playing 9 games in the last week and their next series will be against Fontbonne University Griffins, on March 23, 2024, with the first pitch at noon.