This past weekend was one that will be in the memory of Asbury baseball fans for years to come. The Eagle's took two games against the Grenadiers of IU-Southeast (RV) who stood at the top of the standings in the River States Conference and entered the weekend having won eight of their last nine conference games.
The weekend got started Friday night with a brilliant pitching performance by Will McDonald who tossed a complete game and allowed only one earned run. McDonald appeared dominate from the very first pitch. The junior right-hander collected seven strikeouts while limiting the Grenadiers to just three hits and three walks over nine innings of play.
McDonald's pitching effort was assisted by a strong offensive day for the Eagles. Asbury collected 13 hits with seven total RBIs. Paul Haupt collected two of those RBIs for himself on Friday night while Riley Baumbick and Colton Back both collected two hits apiece.
Saturday brought even more excitement for the Eagles as they split the doubleheader against the Grenadiers in dramatic fashion.
Game one was a pitcher's duel in which the IU-Southeast would emerge victorious. Andrew Spalding and Tyler Morrison were both very competitive in their respective outings. The pair combined to allow just three earned runs and five hits during the contest but were equally matched by Grenadier pitcher Chas Adams.
Adams halted the Asbury offensive attack with a strong combination of pitches that resulted in five strikeouts, two walks, and only one earned run.
Even with the second game loss, the Eagles were not out of the fight.
Game three of the series proved to be one of the most exciting contests of the entire season. Led by freshman shortstop Trevor Campbell, the Eagles collected five hits and three RBIs during the contest and were lifted by a leadoff clutch single by Matthew Baker in the top of the seventh inning. Baker's single would eventually score the go ahead run after CJ Compton was hit by a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
From the mound, Alec Lush was superb in keeping one of the top ranked offenses in the River States Conference in check. Lush completed six innings while striking out five and recording two outs during the bottom of the seventh inning. With runners on third and first, Asbury made a pitching change to Jacob Cervantes to record the final out. IU-Southeast catcher Cody Tanksley proceeded to hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Trevor Campbell who rushed the throw to first baseman CJ Compton. Compton managed to somehow pick the throw out of the dirt which sealed the win for the Eagle's in dramatic fashion.
Asbury will be back in action Tuesday at Kentucky Christian in Grayson, Kentucky.
Austin Johnson -- contributing writer
