Reel Earns Career Win No. 500 In Comeback Victory Over Georgetown

13th April 2022

NEW ALBANY, Ind. – The No. 19 ranked IU Southeast baseball team used a late inning rally to defeat Georgetown College 7-5 on Tuesday as head coach Ben Reel recorded his 500th career win.

The first three innings saw a pitching battle between the two clubs as neither team could muster any offense. Georgetown stranded a runner on third in the first, and the Grenadiers left a man on second in the bottom half of the inning.

IU Southeast starter Garrett Hill pitched the first two innings of the game in his IU Southeast debut, giving up one hit while striking out three. The two teams entered the fourth inning deadlocked in a 0-0 tie as both clubs went three-up and three-down in the third.   

Georgetown started off the top of the fourth with a solo home run by Hank Schinelle to take a 1-0 lead. Andrew Cromwell drew a walk and proceeded to take second on a wild pitch and third on a stolen base. Max Flock’s RBI groundout scored Cromwell and gave Georgetown a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers looked to break the game open in the fifth. Georgetown made it a 3-0 game after an RBI double. An RBI single made it a 4-0 game, and with runners on first and third, the Tigers used another RBI single to extend their lead to 5-0.

The Grenadiers scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Ben Berenda reached first on an error and advanced to third on a single from Brandon Boxer. Trevor MacDonald drove Berenda in with a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 game.

Neither team scored in the sixth, but the Grenadiers struck in the bottom of the seventh. Ben Berenda led off with a single and Brandon Boxer was hit by a pitch. Pinch runner Daunte DeCello and Boxer advanced to second and third on a passed ball, and both scored on a 2-RBI single by Brayden Hazelwood.

Pinch hitter Marco Romero doubled to put runners on second and third with one out in the seventh. Pinch runner Tyler Mills advanced to third and Hazelwood scored on a wild pitch to narrow the Georgetown lead to 5-4. The Grenadiers tied the game at 5-5 on an RBI fielder’s choice by Trevor Campbell.

The Grenadiers held the Tigers scoreless in the top of the eighth and looked to take their first lead in the contest in the bottom half of the inning. Small ball worked in IU Southeast’s favor in the bottom of the eighth as they took the lead on a sacrifice fly and extended the lead to 7-5 after a Georgetown error.

Gavin Knust allowed a walk in the ninth but got the final two batters to flyout and strike out to secure a 7-5 IU Southeast victory. The Grenadiers moved to 25-11 on the season, and Georgetown College fell to 24-12.

TAGS: