West Central Reporter

Western Illinois split the initial two games of their weekend series against Morehead State, securing a 10-6 loss in the first game and a 6-4 victory in the second. This marks Western Illinois' third win in Ohio Valley Conference play and seventh overall this season.

The first game was interrupted by rain on Friday night, with Western Illinois trailing 10-0 after seven innings before play was suspended. The Leathernecks began a comeback with Chris Hege hitting a single, followed by Trevor Leon being hit by a pitch. Liam Bushey also got on base via hit-by-pitch, loading the bases. Cesar Franco then drove in two runs with a ground-rule double, and J.R. Heavilin added another run with a single before rain halted further scoring.

Play resumed Saturday morning, and Western Illinois scored three more runs in the eighth inning. Hege initiated the rally with a double, followed by Leon's RBI double. Bushey was again hit by a pitch and scored on Franco's second double of the game. Despite these efforts, they lost game one 10-6.

In game two, Western Illinois responded offensively after falling behind 1-0 early on. J.R. Heavilin hit a home run to give WIU a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Morehead State briefly reclaimed the lead before WIU put together another scoring effort led by back-to-back singles from Hege and Leon in the fourth inning. A full-count walk from Franco tied the game at three, while Adam Juran's two-run single gave WIU back its lead.

After Morehead State narrowed their deficit to one run again, Kyree Alexander started an insurance run sequence for WIU with his leadoff single in the fifth inning that eventually resulted in Leon’s RBI single extending their lead to 6-4.

WIU's pitching staff held firm throughout game two; Tyler Kapraun started and pitched five innings allowing four runs while striking out seven batters before handing over duties to Jacob Greenen, Mason Telford, Kyle Rosenfeld, and Caden Kratz who collectively shut out Morehead State over four innings – Kratz earning his seventh save of this season.

Heavilin had an impressive performance over both games going 4-for-10 (.400) including one home run along with three RBIs; multiple hits were also achieved by teammates Adam Juran, Cesar Franco as well as Trevor Leon during these matchups where patience paid off drawing six walks compared to just one previously plus accumulating seven extra-base hits across them all.

The series concludes tomorrow at noon when Western Illinois faces Morehead State for their final matchup.