Mastodons Split Doubleheader vs. South Dakota State

Friday, April 12

Fort Wayne, Ind.

12:00 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

14-14, 2-3

South Dakota State

14-12, 2-3

South Dakota State

IPFW

Photo by: Lucas Carter

Mastodons Split Doubleheader vs. South Dakota State

4/12/2013 6:39:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Game One Box

Game Two Box

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Kendall Whitman hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give IPFW a 1-0 win over South Dakota State in game one of the doubleheader, but the Jackrabbits recorded a 14-11 victory in game two behind two home runs from Daniel Telford.

IPFW is now 14-15 overall with a 2-4 mark in Summit League action. The Jackrabbits move to 15-12 with a 3-3 league record. The two games on Friday were polar opposites as game one featured eight hits and one run compared to 35 hits and 25 runs in the nightcap.

Jason Kalber kept the Jackrabbits off balance in the opener as the senior lefty threw all seven innings to get his first win of the season. Kalber only allowed three hits while striking out six. Five different players recorded a hit for the Mastodons, but it was Whitman pulling through with an RBI single sending Clay Hathaway to the dish for the game-winner.

Game two was full of excitement as each team scored two runs in the first inning. Telford hit his first home run of the game to right centerfield and the Mastodons came back to tie the game with RBI singles from Kristian Gayday and Brandon Soat.

SDSU broke the tie by adding a run in the third and it looked like the Jackrabbits were on their way to a win with four runs in the fourth, but IPFW battled back with three runs in the bottom of the inning pushing the score to 7-5.

Soat singled up the middle to start the inning and the freshman moved to third base after a double down the right field line from Whitman. Kevin Wirth picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to right and a double from Malcolm White allowed Whitman to cross home plate. The final run of the inning for IPFW came on another sacrifice fly as Tyler Shepherd took a ball to deep right field allowing Markus Kalber to tag up.

IPFW got within one run in the bottom of the fifth inning as Hathaway hit a two-RBI rocket into the wind that cleared the fence in left field. The 'Dons took advantage of a Jackrabbit error in the bottom of six to tie the game at 8-8.

The game breaker for IPFW came soon after as Telford hit his second home run of the game in the top of the eighth generating a four run inning for SDSU. The Jacks added two more in the ninth and the IPFW comeback fell short after Kalber's two-out base clearing standup double in the bottom of the inning.

The Mastodons will return to action this Sunday as they host the North Dakota State Bison in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.

~ Feel the Rumble ~