SHREVEPORT, La. – The No. 17 ranked IU Southeast baseball team opened their season with a 10-0 victory in seven innings over Central Baptist, but fell to No. 4 LSU Shreveport 12-5 in the night cap.
In game one, IU Southeast started the scoring early. In the bottom of the first,
Grant Shepherd led off with a double and advanced to third on an error.
Nolan Bowser followed with an RBI single to give the Grenadiers a 1-0 lead.
Central Baptist put two runners in scoring position in the second, but a 9-2 double play got IU Southeast out of the inning unscathed.
IU Southeast did more damage in the bottom of the third.
Colin Long singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. After a
Grant Shepherd sacrifice bunt, another RBI single from
Nolan Bowser put the Grenadiers ahead 2-0.
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Logan Beard triple scored pinch runner
Joel Johnson to give IU Southeast a 3-0 edge. An RBI groundout by
Hazel Martinez put IU Southeast in front 4-0.
After two walks to open the bottom of the fourth,
Grant Shepherd delivered an RBI single to give the Grenadiers a 5-0 lead. A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, and
Logan Beard followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0 IU Southeast.
Colin Long delivered a two-out, two-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth to give IU Southeast a commanding 8-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth,
Logan Murphy hit a two-run home run, the first of the season for the Grenadiers, to put IU Southeast ahead 10-0.
The Grenadiers would defeat Central Baptist 10-0 in seven innings.
"The pitching did a tremendous job eliminating base runners by throwing strikes," IU Southeast head coach
Brett Neffendorf said. "The offense hit in big moments and used the whole field."
Grant Shepherd,
Nolan Bowser,
Logan Murphy, and
Colin Long all had two hits in the win. Bowser, Murphy, Long, and
Logan Beard each had two RBIs. Shepherd doubled, Beard and Long tripled, and Murphy hit a home run. Murphy and
Joel Johnson each stole a base.
Brendan Whalen picked up his first win as a Grenadier, tossing five scoreless innings.
Zak Rasener threw two hitless innings in relief.
IU Southeast wasted no time scoring against LSU Shreveport in game two. With two outs in the top of the first,
Logan Beard doubled, and
Hazel Martinez singled to put the Grenadiers ahead 1-0.
LSU Shreveport loaded in the bases in the bottom of the second and scored a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.
IU Southeast broke the tie in the top of the fifth.
Colin Long doubled, and with two outs,
Grant Shepherd singled to put the Grenadiers ahead 2-1. After a
Nolan Bowser single,
Logan Beard singled to make it 3-1 IU Southeast. After a
Hazel Martinez walk loaded the bases,
Logan Murphy delivered a two-RBI single to give IU Southeast a 5-1 lead.
LSU Shreveport got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout, but still trailed 5-2. A two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth made it a 5-4 ballgame.
The bottom of the seventh is where the game turned. A walk and a triple tied the game at 5-5. An RBI double gave LSU Shreveport a 6-5 lead. Four walks, including two with the bases loaded, gave the Pilots an 8-5 edge. A two-RBI single made it 10-5.
LSU Shreveport tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth and would go on to win 12-5.
"The score doesn't reflect how competitive the offense was tonight," IU Southeast head coach
Brett Neffendorf said. "We put up nine hits and five runs off the best starting pitcher in the country. The bullpen didn't get the job done in the last third of the game, but I'm confident this group is capable of playing with anyone in the country when we pitch in the big moments."
Logan Beard led IU Southeast with three hits.
Logan Murphy had two RBIs. Beard,
Colin Long, and
Ethan Burdette all doubled.
Connor Sims got the start, throwing five innings of two-run ball while striking out five. The Grenadiers used seven pitchers over the next three innings.
Luca Sandrella took the loss for IU Southeast.
IU Southeast will play No. 4 LSU Shreveport once more on Sunday. First pitch will be at 2pm EST/1pm CST.
