GAME OVERVIEW
The Lindenwood baseball team (23-20) used two late home runs to defeat McKendree (9-32) by a 14-9 final on Wednesday at Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.
 
The Lions came out strong to open the game starting with a two-RBI double by Kyle Stevens in the first inning.  Bryce Beckmann drove in Calvin Nowak on a single to second base, and scored along with Jayce Maag on a triple to right center by Kolby Schulte.  DJ Miller added another run on the next pitch, allowing Schulte to cross the plate on a single up the middle.  Miller scored later in the inning to make it 7-0 after the second frame.
 
The Bearcats powered back into the game with three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, and took the lead with five runs in the top of the sixth.  Lindenwood fought back to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning.  Miller scored on an RBI single by Neil Fischer, and Mitchell Krebs scored on a sacrifice fly by Nowak to make it 9-9.
 
Brennan Fitzpatrick broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh with his first-career home run to open the inning.  Miller later drove in Alex Gauspohl on a sacrifice fly to extend the Lindenwood lead to two runs.  Ryan Venne came in to pinch hit in the eighth inning and belted a three-run home run to right field, giving the Lions a five-run buffer.  Justin Taylor threw two of the final three innings and shut down the Bearcats while striking out four.
 
GAME LEADERS
Kolby Schulte (4-for-6, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 3B)
Brennan Fitzpatrick (2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 BB)
DJ Miller (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB)
 
UP NEXT
The Lions will hit the road for the final time this regular season to take on Northwest Missouri in a three-game series starting at 3 p.m. on Friday in Maryville, Mo.