Transylvania University Baseball was back at  Wild Health Stadium for the rubber match of a three game series with the Maroons of the University of Chicago today taking the Maroons to extras, only to fall 6-3.

The Pioneer offense picked up where it left off from Saturday and quickly scored three runs in the bottom of the first, thanks in large part to their patience at the plate and aggressive base running.  Junior outfielder Trent Youngblood started the day off with a single up the middle and promptly stole second.  Senior designated hitter Griffin Hall beat out a bunt single and Sophomore outfielder Calvin Schubert walked to load the bases.  Sophomore third baseman Austin Taylor took a walk to bring in Youngblood.  With only one out in the inning Sophomore catcher Bryce Dreher hit into a fielder's choice that scored Hall.  With runners at first and third the Pioneers pulled off the double steal with Schubert and Dreher to plate Schubert to round out the scoring in the inning.

Both teams were stymied by starting pitching over the next five innings.

In the sixth, the Maroons brought the score back to even at three apiece, after some timely hitting, walks and few wild pitches that allowed the Chicago runners to find their way home.

The Pioneers threatened with runners in scoring position the majority of the day only to be found with hard hit balls right at defenders ending their threat, leaving eleven runners on the day. 

Freshman right-handed starter Luke Patton went six strong innings for the Pioneers going six full innings allowing just four hits, three earned runs and three strikeouts for the no decision. Freshman Josh Furtado pitched the final five innings, taking the loss after giving up three runs in the top of the eleventh.  He had spectacular finishes to the ninth and tenth innings however, with a pickoff at first in the ninth and induced a ground ball double play in the tenth to end the Maroon threat.

Youngblood led the Pioneers with three hits and a stolen base. Schubert also added two hits for the day.

After the game head coach Zack Getsee had this to say
"There's a reason we play series like this. UChicago threw a ton of really good arms at us. In terms of preparing us for the direction we want to go, that was the goal here. Losing a split series in extra innings can be a tough pill to swallow at home, but (in my opinion), we're a better team today than we were on Friday afternoon."

Up next for the Pios, they travel to Danville, Kentucky to take on the Centre College Colonels for a single game matchup at 7 pm on Tuesday, Mar 21, 2023.