O'Brien has Huge Game as Chargers Blow Out Danville Area
Aaron Frey
Thursday, April 26, 2018 9:33 AM
Athletics
Galesburg, IL
The Carl Sandburg College baseball team banged out 18 hits and first baseman Cacey O’Brien (Moline, Ill./Moline) reached base all six times as the Chargers blew out Danville Area 15-4 in eight innings Wednesday in a nonconference matchup. Sandburg (22-8) has won five in a row and 15 of its last 17 contests.
Sandburg 15, Danville Area 4 (8 innings)
Sandburg 410 110 53 — 15 18 1
Danville Area 000 031 00 — 4 4 0
W: Cade Hannan (2-1) 6 IP, 4 K, 3 BB
Key Moment
The Chargers offense got going early, with the first six batters reaching base on the way to four first-inning runs. Braedon Blackford (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) led off with a walk and scored on a wild pitch. Shane Coleman (Abingdon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon), who finished with five RBIs, delivered a two-run single for a 3-0 lead, and Antonio Dominguez (Rock Island, Ill./United Township) added an RBI hit to make it 4-0.
Sandburg Star of the Game
O’Brien reached base in all six of his plate appearances, going 3 for 3 with three walks, three runs, four RBIs and, for good measure, a stolen base. The huge afternoon pushed his batting average above .500 for the season. In 109 plate appearances this spring, O’Brien has a .512 average, .633 on-base percentage and .838 slugging percentage for a 1.471 OPS.
Top Chargers Hitters
- Coleman 3 for 5, double, walk, two runs, five RBIs
- O’Brien 3 for 3, three walks, three runs, four RBIs, stolen base
- Blackford 3 for 4, walk, two runs, RBI
- Payton Hartbank (Mattoon, Ill./Mattoon) 3 for 6, double, four runs, RBI
- Kevin Ulrich (Roanoke, Ill./Roanoke-Benson) 2 for 4, double, walk, two RBIs
- Austin Traub (Coal Valley, Ill./Moline) 2 for 4, double, walk, RBI
Top of the Order to You!
The top four spot in the Sandburg lineup (Blackford, Hartbank, O’Brien and Coleman) combined to go 12 for 18 with five walks, two doubles, 11 runs and 11 RBIs on the day.
Up Next
Sandburg kicks off a four-game series with Black Hawk to decide the Arrowhead Conference championship with a doubleheader at noon Saturday in Moline. Both teams have 14-2 records in the conference with only the four games left against each other. The Chargers will play a doubleheader at noon Sunday at Rock Valley before hosting Black Hawk in a twinbill at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Sandburg needs a split of the series with the Braves to win its first conference championship since 2008.
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