NEW ALBANY, Ind. - Midway earned a its first win over a ranked opponent in nearly seven years Saturday, splitting a River States Conference baseball doubleheader with No. 16 Indiana Southeast.
The Eagles earned the upset in dramatic fashion, scoring four times in the ninth inning to win the opener 7-6. The Grenadiers returned to top-20 form in game two, holding the Eagles to three hits and winning 6-1.
GAME ONE: MIDWAY 7, IU SOUTHEAST 6
Midway trailed 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth and a comeback seemed more unlikely when the leadoff batter struck out.
But a
Cole Malawy single began a furious rally in which the next six batters would reach.
Shane Taylor and
Mahrlon Torres followed with singles of their own, with Torres' hit bringing home Malawy to make it 6-4.
Scott Kendrick was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases for
Grant Stone, who picked a perfect time for his first RBIs of the season, tying the game with a two-run single.
The bases were loaded again after
Grant Hotchkiss was hit by a pitch, bringing up
Eli Glasscock, who entered the day with three game-winning RBIs this season,
including a walkoff grand slam against Pikeville on Feb. 25.
While this at-bat would be less dramatic, Glasscock did enough to deliver a fourth game-winner, bringing home Kendrick on a sacrifice fly to right field.
It was the fourth man batted in by Glasscock, who also had a two-run single in the third and an RBI double in the fifth. Kendrick finished the game with three runs scored, all of them courtesy of Glasscock.
Ahead for the first time all day, Midway turned things over to
Jackson Lee, who worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to get the win. Lee allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts in four innings.
Eagle pitchers got plenty of help from their defense, which made game-changing plays in consecutive innings.
Taylor, Malawy and
Barrett McGill teamed up for a 9-4-2 putout at home in the third inning, while Stone threw out a runner at home from centerfield in the fourth.
The win was the Eagles' first against a ranked opponent since April 14, 2018,
when they defeated No. 18 Point Park (Pa.) 8-7.
GAME TWO: IU SOUTHEAST 6, MIDWAY 1
The offense was unable to maintain its potency in the second game, mustering just three hits off IUS starter Luca Sandrella, who had a six-run lead before Midway finally got on the board.
The lone Eagle run came in the sixth, when
Barrett McGill drove home Hotchkiss on a sacrifice fly.
Now 7-11 overall, Midway came out of the weekend with a 4-2 record in RSC play. The Eagles will be back home for a non-conference game on Tuesday, taking on in-state opponent Union at 2 p.m.
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