CEDARVILLE – The Urbana University baseball team came from behind to defeat Cedarville, 4-2, at Yellow Jacket Baseball Field on Wednesday. The Blue Knights overcame a 2-0 deficit in the first inning and outhit the Jackets 8-6 during the non-conference matchup.
With the win, UU improves to 11-21 overall on the season and 7-13 on the road. Cedarville drops to 6-19 on the year.
Relief pitching came up big for the Blue Knights as a pair of sophomores silenced the Yellow Jacket bats. Left hander Bradley Burkholder picked up his first collegiate win on the mound with three solid innings and righty Steven Beall closed the door by surrendering just one hit over a career-high five innings.
Both teams struggled to convert scoring opportunities with runners on base and combined to strand 22 runners. UU left 12 men on base, including the bases loaded in the second and the seventh, but the Blue and Grey were able to plate two in the third, one in the fourth and one more in the seventh.
Cedarville jumped ahead 2-0 in the first after UU starter Austin Mace struggled a bit. The right hander walked four batters in his only inning of work and was charged with one earned run.
However, the UU offense went to work and racked up seven hits through the first four innings. Tanner Davis scored the first UU run on a throwing error in the third. DJ Collins came up next and produced an RBI single to even the score at 2-2.
Davis was one of three Blue Knights to register two hits on the afternoon. First baseman Brent West and right fielder Tim Feasel also picked up two hits. Davis and West each produced a double for UU’s only extra-base hits.
UU’s leading hitter A.J. Finlay, who went hitless on the day, contributed by giving UU the lead for good on an RBI groundout in the fourth. Collins delivered his second RBI of the day after drawing a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
Left fielder Nick Gallagher went 1-for-4 at the plate and designated hitter Enmanuel Lopez reached once on a walk.
UU worked its way out of jams early on as the Jackets left at least two runners aboard in each of the first four innings. A turning point came in the second after Burkholder induced a 4-6-3 double play to close the inning. The southpaw also buckled down with two runners in scoring position in the third by recording his only strikeout and forcing a fly out to end the threat.
Cedarville’s David Bancroft was dealt the loss on the mound.
The Blue Knights return home to host West Liberty this weekend at UU Baseball Field. The four-game set gets underway at 1 p.m. Saturday.
