KOKOMO, Ind. - The IU Kokomo Baseball team split their first two home mid-week games of the season Tuesday and Wednesday, first run-ruling Georgetown (Ky.) before having a ninth-inning comeback bid come up just short against (RV) Indiana Tech.

Tuesday: 13-3 Run-Rule Victory vs Georgetown (Ky.) 

• IU Kokomo picked up where they left off over the weekend with a three-game sweep of WVU Tech, scoring six runs between the first two frames Tuesday against the Tigers of Georgetown.
• The Cougars pushed two across in the home-half of the first, as Gavin Smith singled thru the left side to score Mason Janz (1B), before Kasey Ross recorded an RBI groundout with a pair of runners in scoring position thanks to a Jacob Medvescek double.
• Looking to add on in the second, IUK scored four runs on five hits and an error, as both Alex Janke and Medvescek delivered two-RBI singles in the inning to make it a 6-0 Cougar lead through two innings.
• After a scoreless third inning for both sides, the Cougars doubled-up their lead with a six-run bottom of the fourth inning. Janz (3B), Kasey Ross (2B), Brayden Coffey (1B), and Luke Hanson all recorded run-scoring hits in the inning, as the Cougars carried a 12-0 lead into the fifth,
• Needing three runs to keep the game alive in the top of the seventh, Georgetown did just that, keeping the game alive and taking it out of run-rule territory for the time being as they trailed 12-3.
• IU Kokomo immediately slammed the door back shut on the Tigers, scoring the walk-off run via hit-by-pitch as four-consecutive Cougars reached base safely to open and close the home-half of the seventh with a 13-3 victory. 

Pitching Notables:

• Senior RHP Logan Greer made the start for IU Kokomo, tossing four innings of scoreless ball to earn the win (was on pitch count) and improve to 1-1 on the season. Greer surrendered five hits and two walks, striking out four.
• Weekend starter AJ Burkhalter was the first man out of the pen for the Cougars, working around a leadoff walk to post a zero in his lone inning of work, striking out one.
• Freshman LHP Luke Pluimer made his second career appearance Tuesday and first at Kokomo Municipal Stadium, working a clean sixth before allowing three earned runs on two hits and two HBP's in the seventh, striking out one.
• Senior LHP Jack Bruington entered to record all three outs in the seventh, allowing one man to reach via base-hit before retiring the side with the help of a strikeout.

Wednesday: 11-10 Loss vs (RV) Indiana Tech

• After a scoreless first two frames of Wednesday's nine-inning battle, the Warriors of Indiana Tech took complete control by scoring the first eight runs of the game. The Warriors pushed a single run across the plate in the third before bursting out for seven runs on six hits and an error in the top of the fifth.
• Trailing 8-0, IU Kokomo immediately began chipping away at the deficit with three runs of their own. Noah Wolf doubled and eventually scored on an E6 before Mason Janz doubled to left, scoring Alex Janke (BB) and Gavin Smith (E6) to trail 8-3 with four innings to play.
• Neither team managed to push a run across the plate in the sixth, as the Cougars were the next to score in the home-half of the seventh. Wolf drew a leadoff walk, and two batters later, Smith sent a no-doubter over the left field wall, pulling IU Kokomo within three at 8-5 with two innings remaining.
• Indiana Tech scored a much needed pair of runs in the top of the eighth to stop IU Kokomo's string of five unanswered runs, re-building their lead back to five at 10-5 with three half-innings to play.
• The Cougars refused to go away quietly however, scoring a run in the eighth to make it a 10-6 deficit. Kasey Ross singled to right to open the inning before being pinch ran for by Judah Hennessy. Hennessy advanced to third on a Payton Hankins single to right before scoring on a sacrifice-fly off the bat of his cousin, Brayden Coffey.
• Leading 10-6, the Warriors pushed an ever-crucial insurance run across the plate in the top of the ninth, one that would prove to be quite costly.
• Needing five runs to force extras and six to win, IU Kokomo came ever so close to completing the comeback in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four runs to fall to (RV) Indiana Tech 11-10. 
• In the home-half of the ninth, Jacob Medvescek recorded an RBI double, Ross added an RBI via groundout, and Payton Hankins hit a two-run shot to right to pull IUK within one with two outs to play with.

Pitching Notables:

• 6'7 sophomore RHP Koen Berry got the ball for the Cougars Wednesday, taking the loss to fall to 1-2 after tossing four complete. Berry surrendered five runs (two earned) on four hits and four free passes, striking out three.
• Asa Christie struggled in relief out of the pen, allowing three earned runs on four hits and a walk in two-thirds an inning of work.
• Freshman RHP Kaleb Shelton entered to stop the bleeding, working an inning and two-thirds and allowing two base-runners.
• Nathan Stanley was the next man up, giving up two earned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out a pair in his inning and a third of work.
• Ethan Leslie tossed the final inning and a third for IU Kokomo, allowing one earned run on two hits, striking out two.

The Cougars will return to River States Conference play Friday and Saturday in Kentucky, as they are set to pay the Midway Eagles a visit. First pitch Friday is set for 3:00 PM ET, while Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12:00 PM ET.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.