West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University's baseball team secured their first series win of the season, defeating Eastern Kentucky 5-3 in a decisive game on Sunday. The Leathernecks now hold a 3-6 record.

The game began with WIU scoring two runs in the second inning. Liam Bushey initiated the action by drawing a walk, advancing to third base through a wild pitch and fly out. Kyree Alexander also walked and stole second base, setting up J.R. Heavilin's sacrifice fly that brought in both runners for an early lead.

Tyler Kapraun played a key role by keeping Eastern Kentucky's offense at bay while WIU added two more runs in the fifth inning. Trevor Leon's walk and Maxton Polad's single set the stage for Adam Juran's crucial two-run double, extending WIU’s advantage to 4-0. Eastern Kentucky managed to reduce the gap with runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

In the seventh inning, Chris Hege walked and scored after Kyree Alexander drew another walk with loaded bases, pushing WIU ahead to 5-2. Although Eastern Kentucky added one more run in the eighth, Caden Kratz closed out the ninth inning effectively for his third save of the season.

WIU had limited hits but made strategic use of walks to get eight of their starting nine players on base safely. Adam Juran was pivotal with two RBIs and provided WIU’s only extra-base hit.

Kapraun delivered an impressive performance over 5.1 innings, allowing just two runs while striking out five batters. The bullpen maintained this momentum, conceding only two hits over 3.2 innings.