IPFW Splits Weekend Series with Oakland

Saturday, April 20

Fort Wayne, Ind.

5:30 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

17-16, 5-5

Oakland

7-25, 2-6

IPFW

Oakland

Photo by: Lucas Carter

4/21/2013 6:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 3

Game Two Box

Game Three Box

Game Four Box

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The IPFW baseball team is now 17-18 overall with a 5-7 mark in Summit League competition after splitting a four-game series against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. The Mastodons resumed play of game two this morning and won 5-4 before dropping the final two games of the series to the Grizzlies.

Connor McLaughlin got the win in game two and Chuck Weaver walked away with an unconventional save as the Mastodons held off the late scoring attack from Oakland to record a 5-4 win. IPFW got off to a 5-0 start, but the Grizzlies chipped away and scored four-straight to climb back into the game.

The umpires stopped the game after six full innings due to darkness and the two teams met back on the field at 11 a.m. today to declare the winner. Weaver went to the mound for the final three innings of the game this morning and shut down Oakland offensively, limiting the Grizzlies to just two hits.

Clay Hathaway and Brandon Soat played great in game two as Hathaway went 2-for-2 from the plate with a triple and two runs scored and Soat added three RBI's to his season total with a 2-for-4 day that included a bases clearing triple.

IPFW scored two in the second and three in the third to open up the early lead. Oakland got on the scoreboard in the fourth with one run and followed up with two in the fifth. OU added one more run in the bottom of the sixth before the stoppage, but they were unable to hit Weaver on Sunday morning which led to the IPFW victory.

Game three belonged to Tim Koons as the Oakland product threw a complete game shutout limiting the 'Dons to just three hits. Koons walked two and struck out seven to earn his third win of the season.

Brandon Pease and Danny Tursell graced the mound for IPFW. Pease threw six full innings and struck out six, while Tursell came in for the final inning.

Soat recorded two of IPFW's three hits as Caleb Fenimore chipped in with a 1-for-3 performance. The IPFW offense never got going on Sunday as Oakland evened the series at 2-2 with a 9-1 win in the nightcap.

Chris Van Dyke was lights out for five innings limiting IPFW to just one run while striking out 13 batters. The Grizzlies used three more student-athletes on the mound to finish the game, but it was the offense that pushed four runs across in the top of the first and again in the ninth.

Steve Danielak was hit with the loss on the mound for IPFW. Danielak is now 3-3 on the season. Nate White and Kyle Sorensen also saw time on the mound in game four. White went 1.1 innings and struck out two batters. Location was a problem at times as White walked four batters which loaded the bases for Sorensen's debut. Sorensen walked one batter which led to a run, but he got IPFW out of a jam with two key strikeouts.

IPFW will return to action with a four-game series against Western Illinois next weekend.

~ Feel the Rumble ~