Game One
Game Two
The Prairie Fire competed hard at rival Monmouth College April 17, but came up a little short as the Fighting Scots swept a Midwest Conference South Division doubleheader 6-5 in 10 innings in the first game and 2-1 in the finale at Glasgow Field on the Monmouth campus.
Michael Schroeder '13
The games, which were originally scheduled to be played April 16 in Monmouth, were postponed to April 17 because of rainy weather on the 16th.
The Prarie Fire fought back from a 5-2 deficit with three runs in the top of the ninth inning to force a 5-5 tie and extra innings in the first game of the twinbill.
Sophomore Michael Schroeder (Glenview, Illinois) walked with the bases loaded to force in the first run in the ninth. The Prairie Fire scored two more runs when first-year infielder Michael O'Connell (Park Ridge, Illinois) reached on an error, bringing home senior Jordan Ball (Cuba, Illinois) and sophomore infielder Doug Lillibridge (Byron, Illinois). The inning ended when Schroeder was cut down trying to advance from second to third base.
Ross Donnan led off the bottom of the ninth with a double for the Fighting Scots, but sophomore relief pitcher Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, Illinois) stranded Donnan in scoring position by striking out Mitch Johnson, getting Payton Judy to fly out to right field and coaxing a foul out off the bat of Jordan Gaither to keep the score at 5-5 going into the top of the 10th inning.
The Prairie Fire hitters were retired in order in the 10th by Lucas Skul, who came on in relief of Ray Gerard. Gerard exited the game after pitching 8 2/3 innings and allowing five runs, three of them earned, on four hits and striking out 13.
The Scots scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th with two outs. Ayers got both Matt Young and Ricky Caruso to fly out before Ryan Crandall and Caleb Ruyle reached on back-to-back singles. Following a walk to Matt VanDusen, Ayers departed the game for first-year pitcher Dustin Armstrong (Worthington, Ohio), who came in with the bases loaded. Donnan singled to drive in Crandall for the win.
The Scots took a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning off of Prairie Fire first-year starter Paul Mills (Moline, Illinois). Mills worked 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Ayers (1-3) took the loss after throwing 4 1/3 innings and surrendering three runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked three - one intentional.
Knox tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth when Schroeder doubled home sophomore Kyle Walenga (San Francisco, California), who reached base on a walk.
Monmouth plated two runs in their half of the fifth on an RBI double by Crandall and a run-scoring single by VanDusen for a 3-1 lead. The Prairie Fire answered with a run in the seventh after Walenga singled, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice then scored on Ball's groundout to second base to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Scots scored twice in the eighth when Crandall drove home both runs with a double to extend the advantage to 5-2. Crandall had four hits and drove in four runs while Donnan also had four hits for Monmouth. Schroeder led the Prairie Fire with a pair of RBIs. The Scots outhit Knox 14-6 in the game.
Colin Davis '11
Runs were hard to come by in the second game as both starting pitchers had very strong outings. Senior Colin Davis (Canton, Illinois) worked seven innings and allowed just two runs while striking out three. First-year pitcher Peter Marquardt (Clarendon Hills, Illinois) threw one inning of relief and allowed one hit.
The Scots' Larry Milsteadt (4-2) threw 8 2/3 innings and surrendered an unearned run on five hits while striking out nine and walking six. Skul got the final out of the game in relief to earn his fourth save of the season.
The Scots (15-7, 5-1 MWC South) plated their first run in the third inning on a double by VanDusen that brought home Judy, who walked to lead off the inning. Monmouth added a run in the seventh with two outs for a 2-0 lead. Donnan singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Johnson.
Schroeder walked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the Prairie Fire. After stealing second base, Schroeder moved to third when O'Connell reached on an error. Sophomore C.J. Foster (Batavia, Illinois) was called on to pinch hit and delivered a single that scored Schroeder to cut the Monmouth lead to 2-1. Skul came on to pitch for Milsteadt and got first-year outfielder Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, Illinois) to ground out to end the game.
Davis (2-2) was saddled with the loss. First-year outfielder Jackson White (Grayslake, Illinois) had two hits for the Prairie Fire (5-17, 0-6 MWC South). The Scots, winners of six of their last seven, had 11 hits in the game. The two teams combined to leave 19 runners on base.
Knox resumes play April 20 at home against Robert Morris University of Springfield. The two teams split a doubleheader earlier this month at RMU. The first game of the twinbill against the Eagles at Blodgett Field starts at 1:00 p.m.
The Prairie Fire and Monmouth College will meet again in a doubleheader April 23 at Blodgett Field beginning at 12:00 p.m.
