AUBURNDALE, Fla. – IU South Bend baseball has gotten off to a strong start during their week-long Florida swing, as the Titans swept doubleheaders over Michigan-Dearborn and No. 18 Concordia (Neb.) over the weekend.
The Titans (6-8) opened with an offensive outburst, defeating Michigan-Dearborn 20-5 in five innings in the first of a doubleheader on Saturday. Brenden Bell led the way at the plate, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI and three runs scored.
IUSB took an early lead with three runs in the top of the 1st, starting with Bell's RBI double that scored Tony Reyes. After the Wolverines (4-6) responded with a grand slam in the 2nd inning, the Titans posted nine runs in the 3rd followed by six more in the 4th to take a commanding lead.
Robbie Berger picked up the win, pitching all five innings with five strikeouts. Reyes and Jake Vanderwoude both went 3-for-4 in the top two spots in the lineup, combining for five RBI and six runs scored.
Michigan-Dearborn took a 4-0 lead midway through game two, but a couple of big innings late would give the Titans the sweep, 13-9. RBI singles from Evan Allen and Hunter Bedell put IUSB on the board in the 4th, before a six-run outburst in the bottom of the 5th gave IUSB the 8-6 lead. Brett Sikorski tied the game with his three-RBI double, before two more run-scoring doubles from Bedell and Kole Miller put the Titans in front.
Sikorski drove in a game-high four runs, while Bedell and Miller each went 3-for-4 at the plate. Riley Getman earned the win in relief, striking out two and allowing one base hit in 1.1 innings of work.
Sunday's twinbill proved to be more dramatic, with the Titans scoring game-winning runs in the final inning of both games. Leading 4-2 going into the 7th inning of game one, IUSB surrendered five runs to Concordia (7-4-1) to fall behind going into their last trip to the plate. Capitalizing on a pair of Bulldog errors, Sikorski's RBI single cut the lead, and a fielding error in the next at-bat allowed two runs to score and tie the game. Pinch hitter Donnie Necas reached base on the misplay, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout, then scored the walk-off run on a wild pitch.
In the second game with Concordia, the Titans would be held without a hit over the full seven innings, but took advantage of seven walks and a pair of errors to push two runs across the plate in a 2-1 win.
A two-base error in the top of the 2nd allowed Miller to reach base, then after advancing to third on a wild pitch, pinch runner Coby Campbell scored on a ground out. Concordia tied the game with a run in the 6th inning, but another error in the top of the 7th put Bedell on second base with one out. From there, pinch runner Jake Dykstra advanced two bases on a pair of wild pitches for the go-ahead run.
Zack Dobos earned the win, pitching seven innings with just three hits and one run allowed while striking out seven.
The Titans resume their road trip on Tuesday, March 8, with a single-game matchup with Northwestern (Iowa). First pitch from Lake Myrtle Park is set for 5:00 p.m.
