MT. CARMEL, Ill. (April 28, 2013) – Jarret Bednar threw six scoreless innings for Rend Lake as the Warriors won 3-1 twice on Sunday at Wabash Valley and took first place in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference with only four games to go before postseason play.
Bednar (Decatur) improved to 6-1 as a starter for the Warriors this season. He gave up only three hits and had three strikeouts in the 3-1 nightcap win for RLC. The victory makes Rend Lake 16-5 in the league – the same as Wabash Valley. Since RLC took two out of a three-game series, the Warriors from The Lake move into the top GRAC spot.
Blake Deaton (Mt. Vernon) just seems to know how to score. Whether at the plate or on base, Deaton’s play against Wabash Valley came up clutch and helped RLC grab the #1 place in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
Justin Busekrus (O’Fallon) and Blake Deaton (Mt. Vernon) each had a RBI for RLC in the nightcap. Ty Broady (Greenville, Ky.) scored Rend Lake’s third run on Brandon Allen’s wild pitch in the top of the fourth. Wabash’s run came in the bottom of the seventh after Jeff Smith advanced to third on Brady Wright’s (Jonesboro) wild pitch and was then brought in on a double by Tim Barry. Wright picked up his 10th save of the season. Allen got the loss. RLC outhit Wabash 5-4 and Rend Lake had two errors to WVC’s zero.
There was more hitting in the first game, but there were also more innings. And there were more strikeouts and more runners left on base – RLC stranded six, WVC five. The outcome was still 3-1 Rend Lake in nine innings. The game winning run for Rend Lake came when Deaton led off in the top of the ninth with a single. Zack Jones (Mt. Vernon) sacrificed him over to second with a bunt and Deaton scored on an error by WVC first baseman Conor Dishman.
The Warriors from Rend Lake outhit WVC 9-4 and Wabash’s defense committed two errors this time, compared to RLC’s none. Deaton, Jones and Aaron Choate (Mt. Vernon, Ind.) all had doubles for RLC and Jones had Rend Lake’s lone RBI – a double in the top of the sixth to score Deaton.
Rend Lake’s mound man Nick Andros (Tunnel Hill) struck out 10 batters, and gave up four hits and one run in six innings. Logan Tabor (Marissa) threw two innings of relief and Wright got the save in the bottom of the ninth after getting Dishman to fly out and Rey Perez to hit into a double play.
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rend Lake College (32-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Wabash Valley College (32-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
RLC, now 33-14 overall this season, will play a nonconference game at Lindenwood University – Belleville on Monday before wrapping up the season with a three-game series against conference rival John A. Logan College. Their first game will be played at 3 p.m. Thursday, at JALC. The doubleheader will be played at noon on Saturday, May 4, at RLC. It will be the Warriors’ regular season closer and final home game. For all things athletic at The Lake, visit RLC online at www.rlc.edu/warriors.
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