Greyhound Baseball Sweeps Home Opener Against Frontier Community College

Greyhound Baseball had their home opening doubleheader on February 13, taking on Frontier Community College out of Fairfield, IL. The Greyhounds came out hot in game one, with Hayden Wilson on the mound allowing zero runs through his first four innings pitched. Meanwhile, the Hounds' offense proceeded to score 11 runs in those same four innings, with contributions from most of the lineup. Leyton Bain and Kaden Lawson set the tone early, reaching base six times with a combined three extra base hits. Following that, Zac Fruend and Jack Hotze each homered to center field, putting the Hounds well in front and ultimately resulting in a 13-7 Greyhound win. Freshmen Hayden Burns and Ian Junkin made their college debuts on the mound in relief of Wilson, who earned the win and now stands at 1-0 on the season.

Game two was a battle from the start when Frontier got out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. The Greyhounds responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first and continued to score in every inning, ultimately earning a 15-8 victory to seal the home opening sweep. Once again, the offense was led by many key players. Clayton Ello and Hunter Shoulta combined for 6 hits, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 RBI, 5 runs, and 1 stolen base. Leyton Bain, Kaden Lawson, and Joey Marcinkiewicz each contributed two hits of their own, with Marcinkiewicz delivering a big blow with a long home run to center field. Cooper Swift earned the start on the mound for the Greyhounds. He was then relieved by sophomore left-hander Ben Brantley, who completely shut down the Frontier offense, going 3.1 innings and striking out 8 of the 13 batters faced. Freshmen Hayden Holman and Kennedy Claridge each made their debuts, throwing one inning apiece to secure the 15-8 Greyhound victory. Brantley gets the win on the mound, making him 1-0 to start his sophomore campaign.