QU baseball team excels in all phases to win series finale against Rockhurst

QUINCY — Sunday looked more like the team Quincy University baseball coach Matt Schissel expected to see, not the team that has endured too many ups and downs so far.

Seth West allowed one run over five innings, the offense drove the ball into gaps and moved runners, and the defense didn’t commit an error in a 14-2 victory over Rockhurst in the final game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference series at QU Stadium.

The victory enabled Quincy (9-15, 6-6 GLVC) to split the series and potentially carry some good mojo into next weekend’s series at Drury.

Getting a quality start certainly helped.

West allowed five hits and three walks, while striking out one in his first victory of the season. His defense backed him up with a runner caught stealing in the second inning and a double play in the fourth inning. It also helped to pitch with a sizable lead.

Dustin DuPont followed David Broughton’s leadoff walk in the first inning with a two-run home run, and JD Ortiz crushed a two-run home run in the second inning after Cole Erickson led off by getting hit by a pitch.

A seven-run third inning was highlighted by Evan Davis’ two-run double. Austin Simpson added an RBI double in the fifth with Erickson delivering an RBI single.

Simpson went 3 for 4, while DuPoint went 2 for 4 with five RBIs, Broughton went 2 for 3 with three runs scored and Erickson, Ortiz and Davis each had two hits.

Quincy right-handed reliever Eli Ecton work a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to finish off the 10-run rule victory.