KEARNEY, Neb. – Washburn Baseball hit five home runs as a team and rolled to a 16-3 run-rule victory in eight innings over Nebraska-Kearney in the second game of a weekend series on Saturday, April 2.
WU (17-12, 12-7 MIAA) combined for 17 hits as a team with seven going for extra bases, taking advantage of four UNK (12-15, 9-10 MIAA) errors.
Mike Hefferan (4-2) took the win, pitching into the sixth inning with five hits and three runs allowed, striking out four before giving way to
Greg Mason, who gave up one hit in the sixth.
Josh Ramirez tossed a perfect seventh and
Zach Linquist didn't allow a run in the eighth.
Parker Gibson went 4-for-6 on the afternoon to lead the team in hits while
Kyle Carnahan was 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBI.
Kasey Clark had two hits and four RBI while a home run while
David Gauntt (2-for-4),
Payton Soicher (two RBI) and Cole Garder (grand slam) also had home runs for the Ichabods.
Riley Krane had two hits on the day with a double and an RBI.
Gibson singled on the first pitch of the game and stole second soon after before coming around to score as Carnahan blasted a two-run home run over the right center wall to put WU ahead, 2-0. Gauntt followed in the next at-bat with a solo shot to left field on a 1-1 pitch. Later in the inning after
Bowe Behymer walked on a full count, Clark hit his first home of the season for two more WU runs, making it 5-0.
The Ichabods tacked on one more in the third to push the lead to 6-0 off Clark's RBI single into left center, scoring
Tanner Triggs who reached earlier in the inning off an error on a dropped fly ball.
Washburn took advantage of two hits and two UNK errors in the fourth to add three more runs, lead to 9-0.
Zane Mapes singled to start the inning and moved to second on a ground out, and with two outs in the inning Krane doubled to plate Mapes. A fielding error in the next at-bat allowed Carnahan to reach and race around to second while Krane darted home for the eighth run of the day. Carnahan then stole third as Gauntt walked, and the pair put in motion a double steal as Gauntt took second and Carnahan swiped his 22nd bag of the season, stealing home to make it 9-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Soicher joined the Ichabods' home run derby with a two-run blast (his fifth home run of the season), pushing WU's advantage to 11 by plate Mapes (who reached earlier off an error).
UNK got three back in the bottom of the sixth, but WU responded with five more runs in the top of the eighth. Gauntt doubled with one out and took off a wild pitch, coming around to score later in the inning after three straight walks from the Bearcats put Triggs, Behymer and Clark on base. In the next at-bat, Gardner pinch hit for Mapes and hit a grand slam for WU's fifth long ball of the day, putting the Ichabods in run-rule territory up 13 (16-3).
Carnahan and Gauntt's home runs in the first were the first back-to-back round trippers for the Ichabods since April 17 of last season, when the pair did in the first inning against Northwest Missouri.
Additionally, the five home runs as a team is tied for second-most all-time time in WU's single game history.
Gibson, who yesterday set the school record for career at-bats, moved into fourth all-time in career hits and now has 205.
The series finale is set for 12 p.m., on Sunday, April 3 as Washburn will be looking for its fourth straight win and first series sweep of the season.
