Sandburg Baseball Drops Pair of Slugfests With Rock Valley

  Aaron Frey
  Friday, March 24, 2017 6:17 PM
  Athletics

Galesburg, IL

The Carl Sandburg College baseball team dropped a pair of slugfests to Rock Valley with the wind blowing out Friday afternoon at the William “Bill” Hungate Baseball/Softball Complex. RVC grabbed big early leads in both games, winning 15-7 and 14-12. 

The Chargers (10-7) rallied from a 10-4 deficit in Game 2 to tie it at 11 in the sixth, but the Golden Eagles regained the lead with a three-run seventh.

Jack Gray (Burlington, Iowa/Notre Dame) delivered a two-out hit in the sixth to tie it, but Mitchell Ellison (East Moline, Ill./United Township) was thrown out trying to score the go-ahead run. Rock Valley then plated three in the seventh against right-hander Austin Fancher (Moline, Ill./Moline) and held on after the Chargers brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom half.

Ellison’s three-run homer in the first staked Sandburg to an early 4-0 lead, but the Golden Eagles struck with a nine-run second and added another in the fourth. Nolan Ard (Carthage, Ill./Carthage) doubled twice and scored four times, and Levi Brening (Coon Rapids, Minn./DuQuoin) had two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Catcher Marty Mennenga (Rantoul, Ill./Paxton-Buckley-Loda) had three hits for Sandburg.

Rock Valley jumped to an 11-0 lead in Game 1, scoring three in the first, two in the third and six in the fourth. Ellison went 3 for 3 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk to lead the Chargers at the plate. Angel Figueroa (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll) had a pair of hits and also drove in two.

Sandburg will hit the road Sunday for a noon doubleheader at Joliet.