East Peoria, IL - On Friday afternoon, the Illinois Central College Baseball team (7-22, 2-8) continued its homestand and MWAC play by welcoming the Vincennes Trailblazers. A very brisk wind headed to the outfield favored the hitters, and the box scores would reflect that. A walkoff single gave the Cougars a wild 11-10 win in the opener, before a late push by the Trailblazers in the nightcap gave them a 13-7 win over ICC. 

GAME ONE | ILLINOIS CENTRAL 11, VINCENNES 10
Caleb Bieneman and the Cougars were able to keep Vincennes at bay, retiring the first six batters of the game. In that same span of time, ICC's bats were able to strike on consecutive plate appearances, with a Ryan Brucker RBI single and Jayden Malone two-run homer giving the Cougars an early 3-0 advantage. 

Perhaps a theme for the game, any time it seemed that the Traiblazers would make a push, it seemed like ICC had an answer. In the bottom of the third, after Aidan Fulton drew a leadoff walk, a Brucker single and Malone single set up Kyle Binder, who got an RBI sacrifice fly to score Thomas Krueger, who'd reached on a fielder's choice, to extend the lead to three. 

Vincennes would cut it down to two, but ICC snapped back, with a Fulton single leading to Connor Patton scoring on the throw and on that same throw in, Nate Bartman and Fulton both advanced into scoring position. Fulton would swipe home for the run-scoring answer, but the inning would end soon after, and the margin was up to four runs at 6-2 Cougars. 

It was a quality fifth for the visitors, as a double, single, and walk loaded the bases with just one out. A sacrifice fly, RBI single, RBI double, passed ball, and error all followed that loading of the bases to suddenly put the Trailblazers ahead at 7-6 and making it a brand new ballgame. 

Once again, though, ICC had an answer. This time it was a Binder RBI dobule to tie the game back up headed to the sixth. The see-saw continued, with an RBI double for Vincennes giving them the lead back at 8-7. Another answer in the bottom of the sixth - as Kruger capitalized on the 2-0 hitter's count and lined one into center for an RBI single and an 8-8 tie. 

The Trailblazers came up with a big swing in the top of the seventh, a two-run double, giving them a 10-8 advantage down the home stretch of the game. This time, though, it didn't look like the Cougars would have an answer, with a rare 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. 

In the eighth, it was a much different story. Facing a 1-1 count, Bartman got the fireworks at least loaded up with a solo shot to make it a one-run game at 10-9. Krueger and Brucker followed that up with a pair of singles, but both would be stranded. In order for the Cougars to win, this one would now need a walkoff. 

Crucial to the setting of the table, Broker Bailey pitched a shutout top of the ninth to keep the needed margin at just one run. 

ICC would complete the comeback, and in fact, without an out being recorded. Jake Stewart singled and Blake Norton reached on an error. Error, unfortunately for the Trailblazers, would be the word of the inning. With Patton at the plate for the Cougars, Stewart scored on one error, plus, Norton went first to third on that same error. Tied game at that point, 10-10. On a 1-0 count, Patton ripped a single up the middle and scored Norton to give the Cougars the thrilling one-run walkoff victory. 

COUGAR HITTING
Aidan Fulton (CF) | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 stolen base
Thomas Krueger (3B) | 3 singles, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Ryan Brucker (DH) | 3 singles, 1 RBI
Jayden Malone (RF) | 1 single, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 RBI
Kyle Binder (C) | 1 double, 2 RBI
Jake Stewart (2B) | 1 single
Blake Norton (1B) | 1 walk
Connor Patton (LF) | 1 single, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Nate Bartman (SS) | 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 walk

COUGAR PITCHING
Caleb Bieneman | 5 innings, 6 hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Eli Wang | 0.1 innings, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts
Billy Mini | 1.2 innings, 1 hit, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Wyatt Jacek | 2 batters, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
Broker Bailey (W) | 2 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

GAME TWO | VINCENNES 13, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 7
Vibes were still high, carrying over from the first game's walkoff. Jayden Malone continued his powerful day with a two-run home run to put the Cougars ahead 2-0 after an inning. 

This time, however, it was five unanswered runs in the mid-section of the game that put Vincennes up 5-2 after four and a half. While not conventional in nature, ICC hit the run column on three straight plate appearances. Colton Williams scored on a wild pitch, Thomas Krueger drew a bases-loaded walk, and Chris Casey scored on an error to tie the game back up at five runs apiece through five innings of play. 

Yes, back to the see-saw. The Trailblazers scored six runs to take an 11-5 lead. ICC would score twice in the next half by way of a Nate Bartman RBI groundout and Aidan Fulton RBI single, cutting it to a four-run game (11-7) after six. 

Alas, the Cougars would not score the rest of the game. Vincennes added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to set the final score. ICC didn't go down without a fight, loading the bases on a hit by pitch and pair of walks, but a strikeout ended the game with a six-run victory for the visitors. 

COUGAR HITTING
Aidan Fulton (CF) | 1 single, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Thomas Krueger (3B) | 1 RBI, 1 walk
Ryan Brucker (DH) | 1 RBI, 1 hit by pitch
Jayden Malone (RF) | 1 home run, 2 RBI, 1 hit by pitch
Jake Stewart (2B) | 1 walk
Colton Williams (C) | 1 single
Blake Norton (1B) | 2 hit by pitches
Chris Casey (LF) | 1 single, 1 double
Nate Bartman (SS) | 1 RBI

COUGAR PITCHING
Kaiser Quick (L) | 5 innings, 9 hits, 7 earned runs, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Caleb Diver | 0.1 innings, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
Tyler Sabodor | 1.2 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Vincennes Trailblazers (13-17, 4-10)
Saturday, March 29th - 12:00 PM (DH)
at Thome Field - East Peoria, Illinois
Watch Live (AWRE TV)
Live Stats (GameChanger; "25 ICC Cougars Baseball")