ELSAH, ILL. -- The Principia College Baseball Team came out and took care of business on Saturday, winning both games of the doubleheader against Spalding University.
With the two victories, the 2010 Panther Baseball Team set a new school record for most wins in a season ,18 specifically, since Principia joined the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in the Fall of 1990.
In Game 1, sophomore Greg Ball pitched well enough to earn his 5th victory of the season, but poor defense allowed Spalding 6 unearned runs. Despite the adversity, Greg battled through 8 strong innings before turning the ball over to Spencer Brown with the score tied.
Junior captain Spencer Brown came in out of the bullpen to relieve Greg. Spencer pitched two scoreless innings and worked his way out of a couple jams to put the team in a position to win the ballgame in the bottom of the 10th. Sophomore Justin MacDonald led off the inning by smashing a single up the middle. Senior Isaac Swiderski then moved him to second base, setting the stage for Spencer.
In big situations, Spencer always seems to find a way to rise to the occasion. He did not disappoint, as he came through with a line shot to right field to drive in Justin. Spencer Brown—Winning pitcher on the mound and game-winning hit!
In Game 2, Samuel Thomas pitched a gem to earn his school record 9th victory on the mound. Samuel kept the Spalding lineup off balance all game long with a firm fastball on both corners of the plate and a nasty curveball.
On Senior Day, Eric Lindstrom came out of the bullpen and recorded the final out of the season. It was a fitting way to end the game for “Big E”.
Both of the wins were huge team wins and there were some terrific offensive at-bats and spectacular plays on defense. All three outfielders: Jeff Strickland, Isaac Swiderski, and Justin MacDonald played shut down defense by robbing Spalding of multiple extra-base hits. The middle infield combination of Spencer Brown at shortstop and quick hands Andy Winterbottom at 2B turned 4 double plays on the day.
Offensively, Jeff Strickland had 6 hits, while Justin MacDonald, Andy Winterbottom, and Alan Cheatham swung the bats extremely well.