Fort Myers, FL – The Prairie Fire earned their first win of the season in the second game of a doubleheader against Hamilton College on Saturday.

Hamilton (4-8) defeated Knox 4-0 in the twinbill opener.  The shutout was the second straight against the Prairie Fire, who went into the doubleheader finale against the Continentals having scored one run in their last three games.

After a scoreless first inning, the Continentals scored two unearned runs on one hit and two Knox errors.  Hamilton extended the lead to 3-0 with a run in the third and tallied the final run of the game in the sixth inning.

The Prairie Fire had three singles off of Hamilton pitcher Kelly Leonard, who threw a complete game shutout to pick up the win.

Knox bounced back and beat Hamilton 2-1 in the second game.  First-year pitcher Karli Shields (Naperville, IL, Neuqua Valley) went the distance to earn the victory for the Prairie Fire in the team’s last game in Florida.  Shields allowed just one unearned run, two hits, and three walks while striking out one over seven innings.

Hamilton plated its only run of the game in the bottom of the second inning when the leadoff hitter reached on an infield error and later came around to score on a two-out single.

The Prairie Fire (1-9) provided Shields all the run support she would need by plating two runs in the third inning.

Singles by junior Avecena Hollingsworth (Tigard, OR, Tigard), sophomore Kayla Behrens (Moline, IL, Moline), and junior Alyssa Bleidorn (Batavia, IL, Batavia) loaded the bases with one out.  The first run crossed the plate to tie the game at 1-1 when first-year Annie Ford was credited with an RBI after she was hit by a pitch.  Junior Amber Eisha hit into a fielder's choice that scored Behrens for a 2-1 lead that Knox wouldn't relinquish.

The Prairie Fire had nine hits, all singles, in the doubleheader finale against the Continentals.  Behrens was 3-for-4 at the plate and Hollingsworth went 2-for-2.

Knox begins Midwest Conference South Division play with a doubleheader at home Illinois College on March 30.  The first game against the Lady Blues (6-5) is at 1:00 p.m.  The games were originally scheduled to be at IC, but recent heavy snowfall in Jacksonville has left the Illinois College softball field unsuitable for play.

IC has won four straight games, the most recent a 14-0 victory against crosstown rival MacMurray College on March 21.

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