Illinois College's big sixth inning in the second game of a Midwest Conference South Division doubleheader allowed the Lady Blues to complete the sweep Sunday in Jacksonville, Illinois.
The Fire led 7-5 with one out in the bottom of the sixth when I.C. strung together eight hits and seven runs to come away with a 12-7 victory despite committing five errors after winning game one of the twinbill 9-1 in five innings.
Knox got started with a pair of first inning runs, aided by two hits and a couple of errors by I.C. (9-10, 2-2 MWC South). Sophomore Jill Krippel (Plainfield, Illinois) reached base on an error and came home on a double by sophomore Britt Wisniewski (Park Ridge, Illinois). Wisniewski moved to third base on the Lady Blues' second error of the inning and scored on a double by first-year pitcher/infielder Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, Illinois).
Illinois College responded with a run in the bottom of the first to cut the Prairie Fire lead to 2-1. Knox (2-10, 0-2 MWC South) added a pair of runs in the third frame. Senior Kim Krogull (Lena, Illinois) drove in a run with a single and Beth McRill grounded out to score Eisha, who singled earlier in the inning, to put the Prairie Fire on top 4-1.
The Fire took its biggest lead in the top of the third, 5-1, when junior Kaylah Murphy (Canton, Illinois) doubled and came around to score on a ground-out Krippel.
First-year pitcher Anna Lemen (Cincinnati, Ohio) held I.C. in check through three innings, allowing just one earned run and five hits. However, the Lady Blues got its offense rolling in the final three innings, scoring 11 runs on 15 hits.
Illinois College cut the Knox lead to 5-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lemen was relieved in the circle by Eisha after tossing 3 1/3 innings. She had a strong outing, allowing three runs on eight hits with one strikeout and no walks.
Knox increased its lead to 6-3 in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by McRill. I.C. plated two runs off of Eisha in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Prairie Fire lead to one at 6-5.
The Fire scored another run in the sixth, the fourth straight inning with at least one run, on a single by Kripple that scored Murphy for a 7-5 advantage.
Illinois College responded in a big way. After a single by Paige Cullison to open the inning, Eisha got Amanda Straka to fly out to center field. The costly blows for the Fire were an RBI single by Alese Speckhart that tied the game at 7-7 and Paige Meyer's single that put the Lady Blues up 8-7 in what turned out to be the winning run. Illinois College batted around, plating four more scores in the inning that ended with eight hits and seven runs.
Knox, down five runs in the top of the seventh, put two runners on - one on a passed ball and another on an error - with two outs but couldn't score as I.C. earned the come-from-behind victory.
Erin Rutledge (3-4) earned the win in the circle for the Lady Blues in relief of Chelsea Boente, who threw the fourth and fifth innings and gave up two runs on three hits. Speckhart started the game and allowed four runs - three earned - and five hits with one strikeout in three innings of work.
Eisha (1-5) was the losing pitcher after throwing 2 2/3 innings and surrendering nine runs on 12 hits with a strikeout and two walks.
Illinois College outhit Knox 20-9. Eight of the 12 batters for I.C. had at least two hits and nine drove in one or more runs. Boente had the biggest game at the plate for the hosts, a 2-for-3 performance with three RBIs.
