Complete Notes (.pdf)
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Bulldogs missed out on some golden opportunities and lost a late lead in the opener by a 5-4 score and were shutout by the Washburn Ichabods 7-0 in the nightcap to drop three of four in the conference opening series with the Ichabods.
Between the two games, Truman could not score when they had four runners on third base with less than two outs.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first game, Daniel Jewett (Poulsbo, Wash., North Kitsap HS) tripled to right center to bring in Steven Rose (St. Charles, Mo., Francis Howell Central HS) to tie the score in the bottom of the second. Jewett scored on a wild pitch but the Bulldogs left Jordan Howe (Clinton, Iowa, Northeast HS) at third after moving around the bases following a one-out walk.
Mike Reese (Rochester, Ill., Chatham Glenwood HS), who stole four bases on the day, reached via the free pass in the third, swiped two bags and scored on a sac fly by Devon Myers (Fenton, Mo., Rockwood Summit HS) to put Truman ahead 3-1.
A two-run home run by Andy Petz in the sixth spoiled a strong performance by Bulldog hurler Tyler Stefan (Champaign, Ill., Centennial HS) but the team was determined to give their pitcher a chance for the win.
Myers coxed a lead-off walk in the bottom of the inning and grabbed second on a broken hit-and-run play when the ball was jarred loose on the slide. Kody Stricklin (Barnhart, Mo., Seckman HS) was called in to pinch run and went to third on a wild pitch. Jewett would drive Stricklin in on a sac fly to center to put the Bulldogs up 4-3.
Chris Allard (Surprise, Ariz., Willow Canyon HS) came in to relieve Stefan and got the first out but became erratic as consecutive walks followed by a single from Boone Plager tied the game at four to send it to extra innings.
Allard got the first out in the eight but another walk and hit batsman brought in Christian Witt (Holt, Mo., Kearney HS)from the bullpen. Marcus Peavler greeted Witt with an RBI single through the right side that proved to be the game winner.
Mitch List got the win in relief.
Kyle Veazey (Joplin, Mo., Joplin HS) took the hill in the second game to tie former Bulldog Paul Cornejo for the all-time career starts lead with 33 but gave up a first-inning run on a fielders choice by Dane Simoneau.
Reese doubled to lead off the Truman half of the inning and swiped third but was left their following three straight Truman at bats.
Petz delivered another big blow in the third with a two-run triple as the Ichabods plated three in the third another in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Daren Parker pitched a complete game shutout as he scattered six hits for Washburn.
Series Notes: Daniel Jewett led Truman with a .375 batting average (3-of-8) with a double, triple and two RBIs…Mike Reese hit .364 with a double, drew four walks and stole four bases…Devon Myers had a weekend high four runs batted in…the Truman pitching staff fanned 28 Ichabod hitters while issuing just nine walks, Jarrett Eiskina notched eight Ks in his victory on Saturday…Andy Petz was 5-of-14 (.357) with two home runs, a triple and nine runs batted in…Brian Gomes led Washburn with a .600 batting average while Boone Plager was 6-of-13 with five runs scored…Over the four games, Washburn stranded 23 runners while Truman stranded 26.
SATURDAY RECAP
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Junior Devon Myers' bases clearing triple and sophomore Jarrett Eiskina's eight-inning, eight-strikeout gem gave the Truman Bulldogs a split in the conference opening doubleheader against Washburn on Saturday. The Ichabods took game one 6-1 while the 'Dogs took game two 5-3.
With game time temps in the low 30s, Myers (Fenton, Mo., Rockwood Summit HS) woke up the cold Bulldog offense with one swing of the bat. Truman had just four hits in the opener off Washburn starter Brett Ash but Myers laced a pitch to the right field fence in the third inning to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. Drew Garwood (St. Joseph, Mo., Benton HS) would follow with a double to right as well to bring home Myers.
Eiskina (Lee's Summit, Mo., Lee's Summit HS) was masterful in his home debut as after allowing an unearned run in the first settled in to allow just two hits through five innings. A two-run homer by Andy Petz in the sixth cut the lead to one but Eiskina got out of a small jam in the seventh and then retired the Ichabods in order in the eighth.
The Bulldogs scratched home an insurance run as a wild pitch with the bases loaded and two outs brought in Kenny Swanson (Arvada, Colo., Wheat Ridge HS).
Chris Allard (Surprise, Ariz., Willow Canyon HS) was summoned from the bullpen and got two groundball outs before ending the game in style with a called third strike for his first save.
Ash got the key outs for the Ichabods in the opener as Truman stranded eight runners and only pushed across a lone run in the bottom of the seventh.
Washburn got a run in the third on an RBI single by Cameron Kasel then got the big hit from Petz as he drove in two with a laser to right with two-on and two-out in the fifth off Bulldog starter Ryan Trimble.
The two teams will continue their series on Sunday at noon.
Series Preview:
The Truman Baseball team will open MIAA play and a string of 12 straight games at the Truman Baseball Field when they open up a four-game series against Washburn University (Kan.) this weekend. Both teams played Drury University in their opening series with Bulldogs going 1-3 and the Ichabods dropping all three games to the Panthers.
Series Schedule:
The four-game series is scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday, March 5th with a seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning game. It will conclude on Sunday at noon with the same format. If any of the seven inning games go into extra innings, the second game will revert to a seven-inning ballgame.
Bulldogs On Twitter:
For in-game updates or schedule changes, follow Truman Athletics on Twitter. Due to the field location and the reliability of wireless internet, the Truman Sports Information Staff will be sending out “Tweets” during home games keeping fans updated.
Bulldog Bites:
· After their first four-game series of the season two weeks ago against Drury University, the Bulldogs are hitting .232 with six doubles, two home runs and are 10-of-13 in stolen bases.
· Devon Myers and Mike Reese lead the team with each hitting .400 and both have over .700 in slugging percentage. Kenny Swanson leads the team with a .563 on-base percentage and is 4-of-5 in the stolen base department.
· The pitching staff has a 6.61 earned run average after four games with the starters only allowing nine earned runs out of the 34 total runs allowed. The staff has struck out 23 opposing hitters while issuing 15 walks but have hit nine batters, six of which came around to score.
· Jarrett Eiskina did not allow an earned run in his four innings of work, while fanning six Panther hitters. Tyler Stefan pitched five innings with only two hits against, a double and home run.
· Truman was 7-33 in the MIAA last season and 12-41 overall.
About The Opponents:
· Washburn has played just three games on the season and all were against Drury University. The Panthers took the opener 3-1, middle game 9-3 and the series finale by a 10-2 tally.
· Dane Simoneau leads the team with a .444 batting average whiel Boone Plager is second with a .400 mark and three runs batted in.
· As a team, Washburn hit .146 in their opening weekend while their pitching staff allowed 22 earned runs and 28 hits to Drury.
· The Ichabods were 21-23 overall last season and 18-20 in the MIAA. They were picked eighth in the MIAA preseason Coaches Poll.
Series History
Washburn leads the overall series 52-21 and took three of four from the Bulldogs last season in Topeka. This is the first visit by the Ichabods to Kirksville since the 2007 season due to weather and schedule changes. The Bulldogs split the four-game series that year.
Last season, Devon Myers hit .538 (7-of-13) with a pair of doubles and five runs batted in for the Bulldogs while three starters (Michael Stahir, Jarrett Eskina and Ryan Trimble) pitched 18 innings allowing only three earned runs.
Washburn's Andy Petz hit .625 in the series (5-of-8) while starter Brett Ash pitched seven strong innings allowing just one run and seven strikeouts in the series finale.
Bulldogs Climbing Career Charts:
· Kenny Swanson is 13th in career at bats with 437, he will next pass Tony Vandemore (449) while Luke Crader is 16th and will pass Matt Klusman (415) shortly.
· Swanson is also ranked in career hits (124) and stolen bases (33). With two more hits, he will tie Todd Schmitt (126). Swanson is eight stolen bases away from Brad Jenkins (1995-96) career record of 41, he is currently seventh.
· Devon Myers is climbing the career charts in total bases (158) and RBIs (73). He is also just two home runs shy of 10 for his career.
· Kyle Veazey will tie Paul Cornejo's career record of 33 starts the next time he takes the hill, Ryan Trimble is also on that list with 25 games started.
Up Next:
Truman will welcome Emporia State University for a four-game set March 11-13 in Kirksville. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
