MARION, Ind. – The Indiana Wesleyan baseball team registered a pair of come-from-behind epic victories Wednesday over Indiana University at South Bend. The Wildcats won the first game 15-14 before taking the nightcap 14-13.


GAME VITALS

• Game 1: IWU 15, IUSB 14
• Game 2: Wildcats 14, Titans 13
• Records: Indiana Wesleyan 12-7

INSIDE THE BOX – GAME 1

• Trailing 11-3 in the bottom of the sixth, IWU plated 10 runs to take a 13-11 edge. The Titans scored three in the seventh before the Wildcats scored two in the bottom half of the inning for the victory.
• A Tye Thixton single plate Luke Roman and Nick Coy to make it 11-5. Denver Blinn scored Thixton. MJ Stavola drove in Blinn and Colby Jenkins. Nick Coy's single scored two more.
• Blinn's double to left-center field cleared all three bases for a two-run edge.
• Trailing 14-13 in the bottom of the seventh, Tanner Killian singled to right field. On the ensuing pitch, Lucas Goodin hammered a two-run homer over the left field wall for the 15-14 victory.
• Blinn led the way with a game-high four hits and a game-best five RBI's. Thixton, Killian, Goodin and Coy had two hits apiece. Goodin drove in three while Coy and Stavola drove in two each. Roman and Thixton each crossed home plate three times.
• On the mound, Gabe Fleace worked the seventh inning and picked up the win. Brennan Morehead, Bradedon Norman, Janier Puente and Fleace combined to strike out eight Titans.

HALF THE TIME

• Denver Blinn had four hits in the game. Two of the hits went for extra bases – both of which were doubles. In the sixth inning, Blinn had a single and a double.

INSIDE THE BOX – GAME 2

• A bases loaded walk in the first drove in Colby Jenkins to make it 3-1. Moments later, Blake Storr crushed a pitch over the left center field wall to make it 5-3.
• Tye Thixton tied the game in the second with a homer, making it 6-6.
• Bryce Ginder's groundout in the third made it 7-6. Denver Blinn scored on an error and Lucas Goodin scored on a Nick Coy double, pushing the margin to 9-6.
• Down 11-9 in the fifth, Blinn smacked a 1-0 pitch over the wall for a two-run homer, plating Luke Roman.
• Trailing 13-12 in the seventh, Lucas Goodin reached base on an error. MJ Stavola ripped a double down the right field line, scoring Goodin to tie the game. Ginder's single to shallow center field allowed Stavola to race home with the game-winning run.
• Denver Blinn led the team with three hits. Blake Store drove in a game-high four RBI's.  Bryce Ginder, MJ Stavola and Tye Thixton each drove in two runs. Stavola scored three times.
• Tanner Killian came in as a relief pitcher, got out of a jam and worked 1.2 innings to pick up the victory. He and Andrew Pelkey each struck out two batters. Eddie Spoelman struck out a game-best six batters.

OVER HALF THE TIME

• The Wildcats accounted for 11 hits in the second game of the day. Six of those hits went for extra bases – three were doubles and three were round-trippers.

FINDING WAYS TO WIN

• In the nightcap, the Wildcats scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh for the victory. It marked the team's 12^th in a row.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE

• The 12-game winning streak is the longest for the program in recent history. The next-longest winning streak came in 2008, which was nine in a row. The 12-game winning streak started on March 6, 2008 and the last win came on March 26, 2008.

MULTIPLE COMEBACKS

• In the second game, IWU trailed 3-0 in the first, but came back to lead 5-3. The Wildcats were down 6-5 in the second but took a lead in the third frame. The squad trailed 11-9 in the fifth but tied it in the bottom half of the inning. The team went down 12-11 but tied it in the bottom of the sixth. Down 13-12 in the seventh, IWU scored two runs for the win.

NEXT TIME OUT

• The Wildcats take the field again on Friday, March 12. IWU will play a doubleheader against Mount Vernon Nazarene starting at 2 p.m.

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