FULTON, Mo. - Westminster baseball secures their postseason spot in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament by earning a series sweep over Fontbonne.
The Blue Jays improve to 18-13 on the year and 13-7 in the conference, earning the second playoff spot in the west division.
Westminster dominated the game both offensively and defensively with Skyer Dickneite on the mound.
The Blue Jays got on the board in the first inning by Nick Bohlmann scoring on a passed ball. In the second, it was Bohlmann who earned the RBI with a single to score Rob Shifrin.
Westminster again added a run in the third, this time on a sacrifice fly from Zach Stiles to score Mason Price tagging up from third.
The Blue Jays kept the offensive power up in the fourth, this time adding three runs to double their score and go up 6-0 on the Griffins. The bases were loaded with Adam Mundle, Bohlmann, and Blake Strebler, and Price stepped up to the plate with no outs. Despite grounding into a double play, Mundle was able to reach home on the play. Ryan Clavin, the next batter, came up and hit a hard ball to right center to score Bohlmann. After reaching third easily, a mental mistake by the Griffins allowed Clavin to easily take home and earn an inside-the-park home run and two RBI.
The Griffins finally got on the board in the fifth on an RBI single to score two runs, cutting the Westminster lead to 6-2.
The Blue Jays responded in the fifth, putting up four more runs. Brandon Beeler was the first to strike, blasting a double to to left center field to score Will Stonecipher, who reached on a walk. After Beeler advanced to third on a wild pitch, Mundle drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center. Strebler and Price added the last two RBI of the inning, on a double and single, respectively.
The Griffins managed to get one run back in the eighth, but Westminster answered right away with a run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Beeler to score Stiles.
Westminster used three pitchers in the game, including Dickneite who earned the win to improve to 3-2. He went six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out six. Andrew Boessen and Braden Beasley combined to finish the final three innings, allowing just one run and one hit.
The Blue Jays finish out the regular season with a pair of home games Thursday against Principia, but will advance to the SLIAC Tournament in Greenville, Ill., May 10-12. Their first game will be Thursday, May 10 at 2 p.m. against Spalding.
