Earning some R&R: Victory in opening round of GLVC Tournament gives Hawks time to rehydrate and recover

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — The local Aldi Grocery Store better work on restocking its shelves.

After a visit from Quincy University baseball coach Matt Schissel and a few helpful parents of his players, the store’s supply of Gatorade is seriously diminished.

Following the Hawks’ 12-3 victory Lindenwood in Thursday’s opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at the Lou Brock Sports Complex, Schissel raided the Aldi for 150 bottles of Gatorade to help his guys replenish and rehydrate after playing on the hottest day of the year so far.

“When we got on the bus, it was like the perfect temperature. It was 85 degrees maybe and a little wind,” QU sophomore catcher Luke Napleton said. “By the fifth inning, it was probably 95 or 100 degrees on the turf. So, yeah, it was hot.”

It’s why water, Gatorade and any other replenishing fluids were the order of the day.

“I started the hydration process (Wednesday) on the bus,” Napleton said. “I was hammering water throughout the game and drinking Gatorade afterward. After the game, it was more like I was hot and sweaty and tired.”

An afternoon nap helped, as does the tourney schedule.

The Hawks don’t play again until 7:30 p.m. Friday in the winner’s bracket. They will face the winner of Drury and Indianapolis, who are scheduled to play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

“Rest up today, rest up tomorrow and reset for the evening,” Schissel said.

Having won 12 of their last 14 games and with the mindset every victory is a step closer to the NCAA Tournament, the Hawks expect to be rested and ready.

“It’s the here and the now,” senior right-hander Spencer Walker said. “We worked all spring and all fall for this moment. Now it’s time to put everything together and do what we do best.”

Walker did just that, allowing three runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts as he improved to 9-1 this season. He battled the elements — sweat that made his curveball tough to grip and rosin that didn’t help keep his hands dry — while working out of tough situations early in the game.

“He did what Spencer Walker does every week,” Schissel said. “He attacked the strike zone and kept them off balance. He was going to do whatever it takes to win.”

He got a boost in the third inning.

Scoreless when the Hawks came to bat, center fielder Brock Boynton led off with a single through the right side of the infield. Napleton followed by jacking a two-strike fastball to left field for a two-run home run and the lead.

“Because I had two strikes on me, I kind of shortened up a little bit,” Napleton said. “But I got it pretty good. Their field is so big and the wind was blowing in, so I never really knew if it was going to go over. I think it only went over by a little bit.”

That was enough to change the tone of the game.

“It was immediate relief,” Walker said. “I was a little nervous at the start because we were kind of getting carved up the first two innings. Once Napes came out and hit that ball over and just us started, I wouldn’t say the weight of the world was my shoulders, but I was more settled.

“I was going out there every inning and pitching with the lead and basically taking care of business.”

The lead grew substantially before Walker took the mound again.

A walk to Dayson Croes, a single by Gino D’Alessio and an RBI double from Lance Logsdon made it 3-0. D’Alessio scored on a wild pitch, Logsdon scored on Sebastian Martinez’s single, and after Zach Parks’ double, Martinez scored on a balk for a 6-0 lead.

“It was kind of like the floodgates opened a little bit there,” Schissel said.

In the fourth, Napleton led off with a walk and went to second on Croes’ sacrifice bunt. D’Alessio followed with an RBI single for a 7-0 lead.

“I thought it was going to come down to that run,” Schissel said.

The Lions finally touched Walker in the sixth, as two singles and a double led to two runs. They tacked on another run in the seventh to make it 7-3.

The Hawks put the game away with a five-run eighth inning highlighted by Croes’ two-run home run and Logsdon’s RBI triple. D’Alessio and Martinez each finished with three hits, while Logsdon, Boynton and Joe Roscetti each had two hits.

All but one starter had a hit as part of the Hawks’ 15-hit attack.

“We came out there and proved a point,” Walker said. “I think it puts us in the right direction, one step closer you could say.”