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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For just the second time in school history, Drury University has captured the GLVC Baseball Championship, edging West Division rival Quincy University 2-1 Sunday at Bosse Field in Evansville, Ind.
Taylor Bax came off the bench to deliver a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning, while Kevin Sweeney (8-3) went the distance on the mound, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out two in 9.0 innings of work.
After two scoreless frames, Drury (41-11) got on the board first in the top of the third inning when shortstop Caleb Cole singled through the right side to score Emilio Villanueva.
Quincy (30-26) tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the eighth on Kory Wisdom’s single to center that sent Cole Judy across the plate, but the Panthers would respond in the bottom half of the inning with the clutch hit off the bench by Bax.
Quincy’s Jake Peterson pitched 4.0 innings in the start, allowing four hits, three walks, and one unearned run before being replaced by Alexis Pena (2-4), who was credited with the loss. Pena went 3.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits. Matt Fishman closed out pitching duties for the Hawks in the final two-thirds of the eighth.
The conference title proved to be a perfect bookend for the Panthers as their only other title came in 2007 in the team’s first year of eligibility in the conference tournament. Drury, which denied Quincy its third conference baseball crown, earns the GLVC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship. The league will learn of its other regional representatives Sunday night during the NCAA.com selection show.