Reidelberger
GLVC
5
Ill.-Springfield UIS 34-18
8
Winner Drury Drury 32-19
Ill.-Springfield UIS
34-18
5
Final
8
Drury Drury
32-19
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ill.-Springfield UIS 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 5 9 0
Drury Drury 4 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 X 8 12 0

W: Thomas, Kaleb (7-1) L: Mark DeCicco (6-3) S: Vita, Anthony (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Eric Doennig, Associate AD - Media Relations

Panthers Advance in GLVC Tournament With 8-5 Win Over UIS

MARION, Ill. — No. 4 Drury baseball utilized contributions from every spot in its batting order to overcome an early deficit to edge No. 5 Illinois Springfield 8-5 in its Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament opener Wednesday afternoon at Mtn Dew Park. 

Kaleb Thomas and Anthony Vita joined forces on the mound to hold the Prairie Stars (34-18) in check throughout the contest, especially over the final eight frames when the duo permitted a total of two UIS runs. The Panthers (32-19) move on to an 11 a.m. matchup against conference regular-season champion Missouri S&T Thursday morning.

Drury rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to plate eight-straight runs, including a four-run first inning fueled by Carter Wambach's two-out, two-run homer that put the Panthers in front. DU took advantage of a pair of walks and a hit batsman to push two additional runs home in the fourth, and Thomas rebounded from a rocky opening frame to post four consecutive scoreless innings.

Wambach finished 3-for-4 to lead the DU offense, while the Panthers' No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, Colin McClure and Landon Willbrand combined to reach safely in five of their first six trips to the plate.

Luke Matschiner sparked the offense throughout the game, especially in the home half of the first, following a three-run opening inning by the Stars. The senior singled and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, before Jackson Crider drew a walk and Logan Reidelberger put the Panthers on the board with a base hit through the left side of the UIS infield.

Greydon Miller sliced the deficit to 3-2 with his bouncer to shortstop, before Wambach unloaded on a 1-2 offering from UIS starter Mark DeCicco (6-3) for a two-run homer to right that gave the Panthers a 4-3 advantage.

A leadoff single by McClure and a Willbrand's second walk of the game kicked off another Drury rally in the fourth. Matschiner, who would finish 2-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases, laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both baserunners, and Crider reached on his program-record 57th hit-by-pitch as a Panther to load the bases. Reidelberger worked a walk to force home a run, and Connor Bain's grounder to the right side brought home the sixth DU run.

Back-to-back singles by Crider and Reidelberger led to another Drury scoring rally in the sixth. Bain, who went 2-for-4 in the game, drove in his second run of the night -- and his Drury single-season record 68th of the season -- with a double to right, before Xander Schmitt's fielder's choice ground ball to second chased home Reidelberger for a five-run DU cushion.

Thomas locked in on the mound, to retire four of eight UIS hitters on punchouts, beginning with his inning-ending strikeout of Jesse Contreras to end the first. The junior right-hander allowed just two hits over the ensuing three frames, and then worked out of a bases-loaded jam with his fifth and final strikeout to end the fifth.

In all, Thomas scattered three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings before yielding to Vita with one on in the sixth. The freshman left-hander promptly extinguished a UIS threat by inducing a fly ball to center and a chopper to the right side, ultimately closing out the final 3 2/3 innings of the contest.

Vita, who was named a First-Team All-GLVC performer on Tuesday, permitted an unearned run in the seventh on a two-out passed ball, before Corey Boyette homered with one out in the eighth to pull UIS to within three runs. He issued a leadoff walk to start the ninth, before dispatching the next three hitters in succession to secure the win and his first save as a Panther.

Thomas (7-1) picked up his seventh victory of the season, moving into a tie with Vita (7-0) for the team lead. Matschiner tied Nick Thimesch's (2014) Drury single-season record of 33 steals and moved to within two runs of another program record -- Aaron Mann's (2022) mark of 69 runs scored as part of his 2-for-3 night.

Additonally, Reidelberger logged his club-leading 27th multi-hit effort of the season with a 2-for-4 night, and Crider reached base in four of his five plate appearances.

LOOKING AHEAD
Drury will continue its quest for a conference title Thursday morning against Missouri S&T (May 7). 

For all the latest information on Drury baseball, visit DruryPanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.
 
#OneDrury
Print Friendly Version