ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis baseball suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of McKendree on Monday (March 30) afternoon with the Bearcats topping the Flyers 6-1 and 13-6 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at Brennan Field.

Game One – McKendree 6, Lewis 1 (HTML Box / PDF Box)
Lewis' only run of the opener came in the first inning. Junior Brandon Collins (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way North) beat out an infield single with two outs. He stole second and then came around on an RBI single up the middle by junior Austin Mastela (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport)

McKendree knotted the game with a two-out RBI single of their own in the top of the second. It was another two-out RBI single in the fourth by McKendree to put the Bearcats up 2-1. The visitors pulled away by scoring two more in the fifth and one in both the sixth and seventh.

McKendree starter John Tolliver allowed just one run on eight hits in 6.0 innings to pick up a win and move his record to 1-2.
 
"(Tolliver) did a nice job of keeping us off balance," Lewis head coach Tim McDonough said. "We just didn't do enough in game one to get it."
 
Lewis starter Ryan Fox (Dayton, Ohio/Centerville) took the loss. His record is now 2-3. He allowed four runs on nine hits over 5.0 innings.

Senior Kane Lombardo (Forest Park, Ill./Nazareth) and Mastela each had two hits in the game. Both teams left 10 runners on base.

Game Two – McKendree 13, Lewis 6 (HTML Box / PDF Box)
Just like game one, Lewis was first on the board in game two. A Mastela RBI fielder's choice knocked in the first run. Junior Kurt Becker (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) followed with a two-run home run. His shot to the deepest part of the ballpark in right center field was his third of the season. It gave Lewis a 3-0 lead, an advantage they held until a McKendree five spot in the third highlighted by a three-run home run by Zach Klockowski.

The Bearcats broke the game open for good thanks to a six spot in the sixth.
 
"We got ourselves an early which is what we stress we just couldn't hold it," McDonough said.

The Flyers had four doubles in the contest, including Becker finishing a triple short of the cycle.

Freshman Eric Luecht (Lake In The Hills, Ill./Huntley) (0-4) took the loss, allowing six runs over 4.0 innings. McKendree starter Logan Zachry is 1-0. He allowed five runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings.

McKendree improves to 5-15 (4-8 GLVC). Lewis falls to 8-12 (4-8 GLVC). Lewis hosts UW-Parkside on Wednesday (April 1) in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Brennan Field. Note the start time, it is one hour later than originally announced.