Game One HTML Box Score / Game One PDF Box Score
Game Two HTML Box Score / Game Two PDF Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A pair of runs in the seventh, the final inning of game two, helped Lewis baseball to a 3-2 victory in the nightcap of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at Southern Indiana on Saturday (April 21) afternoon. The Flyers dropped the opener 6-4.
 
Lewis took a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the sixth in game two thanks to a two-out RBI single by sophomore Kyle Kapka (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect) (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect) in the fourth. However the bottom of the sixth is when it got dicey for the Flyers. A single, sac bunt, steal of third, hit batter and then a steal of second put USI runners at second and third and one out for USI's Dylan Mooney. Mooney took a 1-2 pitch up the middle to knock in the pair and put USI up 2-1. Lewis starter sophomore Tom Helwich (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) worked back-to-back fly outs to end the sixth and keep it a one-run game.
 
The top of the seventh started with Kapka being hit by a pitch. Freshman Kane Lombardo (Forest Park, Ill./Nazareth) (Forest Park, Ill./Nazareth) pinch-ran for Kapka and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt. Senior Michael Wido (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) walked on four straight to put runners on first and second. Senior Zach Stetson (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher) (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher) entered the game as a pinch-hitter. Stetson hit the second pitch he saw into right field, scoring Lombardo from second for the tying run. Stetson rounded first and then found himself in a rundown. As USI chased Stetson, Wido raced home from third to give Lewis the lead.
 
“Zach got a pitch to hit, found a hole and had the big hit we needed,” Lewis head coach Tim McDonough said. “Once Zach was in the rundown, Wido did a great job of rounding third and scoring.”
 
Senior Drew Hicks (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) took over for Helwich to start the seventh. Hicks threw a 1-2-3 final frame to pick up his fifth save of the season. Helwich earned the win to move his record to a perfect 5-0. He allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks. Matthew Davidson (1-1) took the loss for USI.
 
“Tommy pitched his butt off but we went to Hicks for a change of pace,” McDonough said. “Hicks came in and threw strikes and did a great job.”
 
The game two win came with the Lewis softball team cheering them on. Softball made the trip to Evansville after sweeping a doubleheader at Kentucky Wesleyan earlier in the day.
 
Lewis dropped game one 6-4. The Flyers led 1-0 after three and half innings before USI put four runs on the board in the fourth. Lewis added two in the top of the seventh to make it a 4-3. USI bounced back by getting the two runs back in the bottom of the seventh on a Brennan Malham two-run home run.
 
The Flyers had threats in the eighth and the ninth but couldn't get the big hit. Lewis used a two-out rally in the eighth to load the bases, but stranded all three runners. Lewis put one on the board in the ninth, but left the potential tying runs at first and second to end the game. USI used four pitchers to get through the ninth inning.
 
Lewis starter junior Matt Frahm (McLean, Ill./Olympia) (McLean, Ill. / Olympia) went seven innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and no walks. He struck out seven USI batters. Frahm took the loss and is now 4-4. Scott Cole, who went eight innings for USI, picked up the win and is now 5-2.
 
The Flyers left nine runners on base in game one. The leadoff man reached base for Lewis in six of the nine innings.
 
“We just left too many guys on base in game one,” McDonough said “We didn't play poorly, (USI) was just more efficient with their hits than us.”
 
When Lewis didn't score in the first inning of game one, it snapped a streak of scoring in 23 straight innings dating back to last week at Kentucky Wesleyan. The Flyers didn't walk a batter in either game on Saturday. The Flyers pitching staff has 12 games this year where they haven't allow a walk.
 
Southern Indiana is now 21-18 (12-14 GLVC). Lewis is 27-12 (17-9 GLVC). The 17^th GLVC win for Lewis is one better than last year' s 16 and is the most in a season since 18 in 1997.
 
Lewis and USI finish the weekend series with a doubleheader on Sunday at noon.