Game #1 box score
Game #2 box score
Galesburg, IL - The Prairie Fire didn't want to be the team that allowed Grinnell College to snap a 27-game losing streak this season. Thanks to timely hitting and strong pitching, the Pioneers left with two more losses on Friday.
Knox won a 3-2 nail biter in the first game of the doubleheader. The Fire completed the sweep with a come-from-behind 11-3 victory in the finale, making it a happy Senior Day.
The sweep was Knox's first against a Midwest Conference South Division team in more than seven years. Ironically, Grinnell was the last MWC team that Knox swept. The Prairie Fire defeated the Pioneers 6-2 and 3-1 on April 2, 2004 at home.
Knox also ended another long dry spell this season on April 17. The Prairie Fire won both games of a doubleheader against Robert Morris University of Springfield 2-1 and 8-6 for the first sweep of any team since May 1, 2007. Knox beat Rockford College 6-5 and 13-2 at home in the final two games of the 2007 season.
The Pioneers came up just short of tying the first game in their final at-bat, but Knox held on to continue Grinnell's struggles.
The Prairie Fire (7-18, 2-9 MWC South) scored a run in the first inning when junior Kaylah Murphy (Canton, Illinois) led off with a single against Grinnell hurler Hannah Ney. Sophomore Jill Krippel (Plainfield, Illinois) sacrificed Murphy to second base before Murphy advanced to third on a wild pitch. Junior Beth McRill (Streamwood, Illinois) was credited with an RBI when she grounded out, allowing Murphy to score for a 1-0 lead.
Junior Amanda Wollrab (Knoxville, Illinois) provided the rest of the Prairie Fire's offense in the second inning. Ney walked sophomore Sara Leverton (East Peoria, Illinois) and Wollrab hit her first home run of the season, a two-run shot, over the left field fence to extend the lead to 3-0.
Knox threatened to add to the lead. The team's lone senior, Kim Krogull (Lena, Illinois) -- who was recognized before the game -- walked after Wollrab's home run. Murphy flied to left for the second out of the inning. Krogull advanced to second base on a passed ball then moved to third on a wild pitch. Ney walked the next two hitters, Krippel and sophomore Britt Wisniewski (Park Ridge, Illinois) to load the bases for first-year Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, Illinois), who had homered in her last two games.
The Pioneers made a pitching change, taking out Ney after just 1 2/3 innings and brining in Amanda Stromquist. The move worked as Stromquist got Eisha to pop out to the shortstop, leaving three runners on base.
The Pioneers plated an unearned run in the third when leadoff hitter Aniela Wendt reached on an infield error and eventually came around to score on a ground ball out to cut the Knox lead to 3-1.
Stromquist was effective in the circle, allowing only three hits in 4 1/3 innings and striking out two. She set the Prairie Fire down in order in the third inning, surrendered a hit to Krogull in the fourth, again set Knox down in order in the fifth and gave up hits to first-year infielder Jordan Shaffer (Atlanta, Illinois) and Wollrab in the sixth before getting out of the inning without allowing a run.
Grinnell made it a one-run game with a tally in the sixth inning on three hits. The first two batters of the inning, Kelsey Montgomery and Stromquist, reached on back-to-back singles off Eisha. The next hitter popped up to Shaffer at second base, who then threw out Montgomery trying to advance to third. The play was a big one because the next hitter, Ney, doubled home Stromquist to trim the Prairie Fire lead to 3-2. Eisha settled in, getting the next batter to ground out to escape the jam while leaving two Grinnell runners on base.
The Fire couldn't pick up an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth despite hits by Shaffer and Wollrab, and Eisha took to the circle to try to earn the complete-game win.
Eisha struck out Aiyana Turpen-Scott for the first out of the inning. Aniela Wendt reached first base and moved into scoring position on the fourth Knox error of the game. Eisha dug in and got Brianna Gallo to fly out to center for the second out and Montgomery hit a ground ball back to Eisha, who flipped it over to first-year player Anna Lemen (Cincinnati, Ohio) at first base for the final out of the game as the Prairie Fire hung on for the win.
Eisha pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one earned run on seven hits while striking out four and walking none.
The Pioneers outhit Knox 7-5. Gallo and Stromquist had two hits apiece for Grinnell. Wollrab led the Prairie Fire by going 2-for-3 with a home run, a run scored and two RBIs. Murphy was 1-for-3 with a run scored and Shaffer also had a hit in three plate appearances.
Ney (0-7) took the loss. She allowed just two hits but walked five and gave up all three Knox runs.
Grinnell got off to a great start in the twinbill finale, scoring three runs in the first inning against Eisha, who made her 12th start and appeared in her team-leading 19th game in the circle for the hosts.
The Pioneers scored all three runs on doubles with two outs. Stromquist doubled home Gallo, who singled earlier, for the first run. Jayme Wiebold followed with double to score Stromquist. Ney made it three straight doubles, scoring Wiebold for a 3-0 lead. Following a brief meeting at the circle, Eisha struck out Christina Colver to end the inning.
The Prairie Fire chipped away at the Pioneer lead while Eisha got into a groove and did not allow another run the rest of the game.
Knox plated a run in the bottom of the first inning when Murphy led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch by Stromquist.
The Prairie Fire cut the Grinnell lead to 3-2 with another run in the bottom of the second. Eisha and Shaffer smacked back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Both moved up a base on a wild pitch by Stromquist. Wollrab brought Eisha home with a sacrifice fly to center field for the second out. Lemen, who would later provide an offensive burst, grounded out for the third out.
Grinnell missed a chance to add to its lead in the third inning, instead stranding three base runners. Montgomery was hit by a pitch to lead off. Stromquist hit into a fielder's choice, forcing Montgomery at second base for the first out. Stromquist moved into scoring position on a passed ball and Eisha walked Wiebold to put runners on first and second. Ney's fly ball to center field was dropped by Murphy, loading the bases for Colver with one out. Colver hit a ground ball to Krippel at third base, who threw home to get Stromquist for the second out. Eisha got out of the inning by forcing Jessica Menary to ground out.
The momentum swung the Prairie Fire's way, setting up a big third inning that changed the game.
The first two batters were retired in order before Wisniewski reached base on an error by her counterpart at shortstop, then advanced to second on a passed ball. Stromquist walked McRill and Eisha followed by slamming a three-run home run to give the Prairie Fire the lead for good at 5-2. The homer was the third in the last four games for Eisha, who also leads the team with 17 RBIs. Stromquist got Shaffer to ground out to end the inning.
Eisha allowed a harmless single in the fourth inning to keep the score at 5-2. The Prairie Fire failed to score in the fourth as well.
Grinnell couldn't score after the first two hitters reached base in the fifth. Stromquist singled and Wiebold walked, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. Eisha got Ney to pop up to Wisniewski at shortstop, Wiebold to pop out to Shaffer at second base and she struck out Menary.
The Prairie Fire sent Grinnell home with a six-run fifth inning.
Murphy grounded out to lead off the inning. Kripple hit a ground ball to Stromquist, who made a bad throw that sent Kripple to second base with one out. That set the wheels in motion for Knox.
Wisniewski doubled home Krippel for a 6-2 lead. McRill singled and Eisha was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Shaffer followed with a double in the gap between right and center field, bringing home Wisniewski and McRill for an 8-2 advantage.
Leverton kept the hit parade going with a single that scored Eisha for the ninth run of the game and the fourth of the inning and moved Shaffer to third. Leverton was cut down trying to swipe second base for the second out of the inning. Stromquist walked Wollrab, who moved to second on a passed ball with Lemen at the plate. Lemen also found the gap in right-center with a two-run double that scored both Shaffer and Wollrab to end the game courtesy of the eight-run rule, 11-3.
The Prairie Fire outhit the Pioneers 10-7. The 11 runs matched the season-high 11 Knox scored in a win at home on April 13 against Eureka College.
Lemen had her best game at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Eisha was the offensive hero, smacking the game-winning home run. She was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Shaffer contributed two hits, two RBIs, and scored a run while Wisniewski was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Seven Knox batters had at least one hit and six drove in one or more runs.
Eisha (5-10) also earned the win in the circle. She threw five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking two.
Stromquist (0-22), after a strong performance in relief in the first game, struggled against the Prairie Fire in the second contest. She gave up 11 runs (nine earned) on 10 hits and walked two.
The losses dropped Grinnell's record to 0-29 overall and 0-13 in MWC play.
Knox, which has won five of its last seven games, finished with a 5-3 record at home. The Prairie Fire has four games remaining -- two Midwest Conference South Division contests and a pair of non-conference games.
Knox next visits rival Monmouth College (19-12, 10-1 MWC) on May 1. The first game starts at 1:00 p.m.
The Fighting Scots have won five straight games and are in first place in the South Division. Monmouth has clinched a spot, along with current MWC South Division runner-up Lake Forest College (14-16, 9-3), in the Midwest Conference Tournament on May 6 and 7.
The MWC North Division champion will host the tournament. The division champ has not yet been determined.
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