The IU Columbus baseball team played host to River States Conference foe West Virginia Tech for a three game series over the weekend. Friday's weather was perfect for a baseball doubleheader, and the Crimson Pride took advantage by winning both games, albeit in different fashion. The visiting Golden Bears came back to take Saturday's game in cold and damp conditions.

Friday, April 17
Game 1
Grayson Roll got the starting nod on the mound for the Crimson Pride, and he was solid through his six innings of work. The offense was fueled by the middle of the order, as Wyatt Sutton, Aidan Sheetz and Carson McNulty each had three hits. They got on the board in the second inning, scoring three runs with the help of an infield error with two outs. Garrett Thurman led off with a walk and moved to second on a one-out single by Gavin Lash. Quentcy Perry hit a ground ball to the second baseman with two outs and his error scored two runs, with Perry advancing to second. Sutton followed with an RBI single to give the Crimson Pride a 3-0 lead after two innings,

West Virginia Tech first baseman Jacob Tompkins led off the fourth with a long home run to right field for the visitors' first run. Sutton led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and a steal of second base. Sheetz knocked him in with a single, and McNulty followed that with a single of his own. Thurman walked with one out to load the bases. Wes McNeff was then hit by a pitch to force in a run, making the score 5-1.

The Golden Bears scored one run in the top of the sixth, but the Crimson Pride matched that with a run of their own in the bottom half, Sutton doubled with one out and scored on a single by Sheetz for a 6-2 lead going into the seventh. After giving up a double and a single to start the seventh, scoring a run, Brandon Bailey came on in relief of Roll, and he got out of the inning with no trouble.

IU Columbus poured it on in the bottom of the seventh, taking advantage of four walks. a hit-by-pitch and a balk. McNulty picked up his third hit of the game, and Cyrus Robinson had two hits in the inning, with the second hit scoring Trey VanMeter, ending the game via the ten run rule, 13-3.

Game 2
Carter Reitz was the starting pitcher in the second game, and he struggled with a tight strike zone in the top of the first.The Golden Bears used three walks and a catcher's interference to score one run for the early lead. The Crimson Pride answered in the bottom of the first as Sutton drew a one-out walk, and he came around to score on a long double by Sheetz to tie the score. 

Sheetz reached on a on-out walk in the third, with Cortez Jenkins coming in as the courtesy runner for the catcher ( Jenkins was busy as he was the runner six times for Sheetz in the doubleheader). McNulty walked and Thurman singled to load the bases with one out. McNeff hit a grounder to short; the Golden Bears got one but McNeff's hustle beat the relay to first and Jenkins scored for a 2-1 lead.

West Virginia Tech got two singles with one out in the fifth, but Reitz retired the next two hitters to keep the Crimson Pride in the lead. In fact, those were the ONLY two hits Reitz allowed in the game. After the tough first inning, allowing three walks, Reitz threw a complete game, giving up those two hits, walking those three batters in the first, and striking out five. He also was the beneficiary of some excellent defensive play, and the Crimson Pride got a sweep of the doubleheader.

Saturday, April 18
Mother Nature did not shine on Senior Day at CERA Sports Park. The seniors and their families were honored before the game as there was still a slight rain falling along with the temperature. The wet conditions made for some sloppy fielding, and West Virginia Tech took advantage with an unearned run in each of the first two innings. Senior Caleb Richards was the starting pitcher for the Crimson Pride, and he allowed only one hit and those two unearned runs in his five plus innings.

The Crimson Pride got one run back in the second on a pair of walks, an error and a balk. They added two more in the third to take the lead. Sheetz and McNulty walked with one out, and Robinson drove them in with a two-out double. The score stayed 3-2 until the seventh inning. A leadoff walk brought Gavin Haltom in to relieve Carson Smith. He retired the first two batters he faced before he plunked Carson Crigger. Gabe Templeton singled in a run to tie the game. An unfortunate error loaded the bases for Tompkins, and he delivered a two-run single  to give the Golden Bears the lead. They added one more run in the inning to take a 6-3 lead after seven innings.

The Crimson Pride tried to put together a rally in the eighth as Robinson led off with a triple. Brett Poindexter walked, and McNeff walked to load the bases with one out. Daulton Phillips came in as a pinch hitter, looking for a pitch to drive. He went after the first pitch and hit it a long way, but it went foul, barely missing out on a grand slam. He went down on strikes for the second out of the inning. Sutton walked to score Robinson, but that's where the rally ended. Neither team scored in the ninth, and the Golden Bears got the win 6-4.

Next on the schedule:
The Crimson Pride travel to Cincinnati on Wednesday to take on UC Clermont, before returning home for a three game series with Rio Grande at CERA Sports Park on Friday and Saturday.