Baseball Sweeps Saturday DH Against IC

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (03/24/2024) — The Monmouth College baseball team swept a Saturday home doubleheader from Illinois College to open Midwest Conference play. The Scots (9-5, 2-0) won the first game 12-2 on the mercy rule and rallied for a 16-11 win in the nightcap.

"Feels really good today sweeping at home and taking the series," said head coach Alan Betourne. "Our goal for every series is to win the series and we got that done today."

The Scots got on the board in the first inning after Cade Sharp (Aledo, Illinois) pitched around a leadoff walk. Tyler Houck (Park Ridge, Illinois) singled with one out and moved to second on a groundout. Raull Guillermo (Miami, Florida) singled to plate Houck for a 1-0 lead.

Alexander Dye (Albuquerque, New Mexico) led off the second with a single and Nate Reed (Chenoa Illinois) walked. Both moved up on a sac bunt and Dye scored on a single by Aiden Scott (Carrollton, Texas). Clayton Matkovic (Sherrard Illinois) singled home Reed for a 3-0 lead. With two down, Daniel Lummus (New Port Richey, Florida) fouled off multiple two-strike pitches before slamming a double into left-center for a 5-0 lead.

Sharp retired eight in a row before the Blueboys got on the board in the fourth. The Monmouth offense went back to work in the fifth. Houck and Guillermo were hit by pitches and Aidan Parkins (Monmouth, Illinois) walked to load the bases with one out. Dye singled home a run and Reed's sacrifice fly made it 7-1. Jacob Blunck (Forsyth, Illinois) singled for an 8-1 lead before IC went to the bullpen and escaped the inning.

"We had a plan offensively all week and knowing what we wanted to do and the guys went out and executed," said Betourne.

Monmouth added two more in the sixth. Matkovic singled and moved to third on a pair of groundouts. He scored on a wild pitch and Parkins doubled home Guillermo for a 10-1 Monmouth lead.

Leading 10-2 the Scots finished off the scoring in the eighth. Houck led off with a single before Luimmus and Guillermo walked. Parkins had a sacrifice fly and Dye ended the game 12-2 with a RBI double to left.

Sharp (2-1) earned the win with a career-high seven innings. Sharp struck out four walked three and allowed two runs on four hits. Roy Ralston (Macon, Illinois) threw one shutout inning with one hit allowed.

"We had a really good plan for the week with our pitching and Cade being a veteran went out there and executed," said Betourne. "He's a bulldog and has that mentality and that is why he's out there in the opener and setting the tone."

The Blueboys jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game two going into the fourth inning. Houck walked to start the inning and Lummus walked to put two on base. Guillermo doubled home Houck with the first Monmouth hit of the game. A sacrifice fly from Parkins tied the game 2-2.

Matkovic singled with one out in the fifth and stole second. Houck walked and Lummus gave the Scots a 3-2 lead with a single. Guillermo made it 4-2 with a single and Parkins drove in two with a double. Parkins stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dye for a 7-2 Monmouth lead.

The visitors scored eight runs in the next two innings to lead 10-7. The Scots put two on base to start the seventh and Dye singled up the middle with two outs to plate Lummus. Reed singled to tie the game 10-10 as both Guillermo and Dye scored. With the bases loaded, Matkovic and Houck earned consecutive walks for a 12-10 Scots lead.

Monmouth added on in the eighth. Dye doubled home a run and then scored on a double by Reed. With the bases loaded, Matkovic doubled home two more for a 16-10 lead.

Toby Turnquist (Monmouth, Illinois) started and struck out one over 5 innings. Ralston threw an inning before Nick Villa (El Segundo, California) threw 1 innings. Villa (1-0) picked up the win while Tyler Sears (Bloomington, Illinois) secured the final out in a non-save situation.

"We got back on track there in the second game and put 28 runs up against some really good pitchers," said Betourne, "These were two really good wins, picking each other up and getting things done on the field today."

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Lummus extended his hit streak to 13 gamesAll nine players reached base in both games and eight players had hits in both gamesHouck walked four times in game two and was on base nine times on the dayHouck scored five runs on the dayMonmouth committed just one error over 18 inningsGuillermo had two doubles in game two and Monmouth had 10 doubles on the dayDye and Parkins had five RBI each on SaturdaySharp threw a career-high seven inningsHis previous high was 6 as a reliever and six innings as a starterDye had five hits on Saturday while Matkovic and Guillermo had four eachMonmouth stole five bases on the dayThe Scots also won the season series against IC last season and they have won four in a row overallMonmouth plays at IC on Sunday at noon.