Peyton Blinn
WESTFIELD — IU Columbus picked up its first win of the baseball season Sunday, topping Aquinas (Michigan) 9-5 in the second game of a doubleheader at Grand Park.
Peyton Blinn went 3 for 4 with three doubles and five RBIs, and Wyatt Sutton went 2 for 3 to lead the offense. Jared Ross and Lucas Slager each had a triple.
Cam Richey pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win in relief of Ross. Jackson Gilcrest closed with three scoreless innings to earn the save.
Aquinas won the first game 7-1, The Crimson Pride matched the Saints with nine hits, led by Ethan Guire, who went 2 for 4, and Sutton, who went 2 for 5.
Starter Darius Compton took the loss. Lane Zohrlaut, a freshman from Jennings County, was the fourth of four IUC pitchers and pitched a perfect inning.
“Aquinas was a disciplined team,” IUC coach Scott Bickel said. “They won more phases of the game than we did. We were probably in position to win three of the four games. It’s a credit to some of our returners and some of the newcomers on our team that we never quit.”
The Crimson Pride (1-3) had fallen to Aquinas 6-4 and 11-9 in Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader.
“We had a lot of debuts this weekend,” Bickel said. “We probably had 20 or 30 debut moments — first hits, first stolen bases, pitching debuts. I think we have a group of guys that are going to continue and grow and learn. We have a good group of guys that care about each other and play well together.”
IUC travels to Pulaski, Tennessee to play a doubleheader with Tennessee Southern on Friday and a doubleheader with Marian on Saturday.
