Box Score
Eureka, IL – The Prairie Fire used two big innings to post a 9-2 non-conference win at Eureka College on Monday.
Knox got on the board quickly with a run in the top of the first inning. Junior Matt Lee (Fullerton, CA, Servite) walked, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Junior Ryan Hoffman (Sugar Grove, IL, Marmion Academy) drove Lee home with a base hit to give the Fire a 1-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long after Eureka, with two out, responded with a run in the second on two hits and an error to tie the game at 1-1.
The Red Devils (2-10) benefited from a walk and a wild pitch in the third inning and took a 2-1 lead on Knox and junior starter Ryan Stoens (Bartonville, IL, Limestone).
Eureka held a one run advantage until the fifth inning, when the Prairie Fire scored four times and reclaimed the lead at 5-2. The big blow was a two-run homer by junior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg), his third of the season.
Knox put the game out of reach with four more runs in the sixth. Sophomore Michael Belitz (Sheboygan, WI, North) had an RBI double, Hoffman walked to force in a run, and Weaver drove in two more runs with a single to give the Prairie Fire a 9-2 advantage.
Stoens did not figure in the decision after throwing four effective innings. He allowed one earned run on three hits and struck out six.
The Knox bullpen of first-year Nathaniel Grady (Antelope, CA, Oakmont), junior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL, Farmington Community), first-year Kenny Blanchard (Morton Grove, IL, Niles West), and sophomore Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central) was lights out, tossing five shutout innings and giving up just two hits.
Grady (1-2) earned the win after he pitched two innings of relief and allowed just one hit. Ayers, Blanchard, and White each threw an inning. Blanchard struck out one and walked one.
Weaver was 2-for-4 with four runs batted in to lead the Prairie Fire offense. First-year infielder Andrew Sparrow (Sullivan, IL, Sullivan) added two hits and Hoffman had a hit and drove in a pair of runs.
The win was the second straight for Knox, which travels to Grinnell College for a Midwest Conference South Division doubleheader on Saturday.
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