Game #1 box score
Game #2 box score
Galesburg, IL – Beloit College snapped the Prairie Fire’s two game winning streak with a pair of wins on Sunday at Blodgett Field, the first home games for Knox.
The Buccaneers (6-10) defeated Knox in the first game of a doubleheader 4-1 before holding on to also win the finale 14-11 in 10 innings.
Beloit scored three runs in the first inning of game one while holding the Prairie Fire to six hits. Knox (6-10) scored its only run in the fifth when sophomore Michael O'Connell (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) doubled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Peter Marquardt (Clarendon Hills, lL, Hinsdale Central) (2-2) took the loss on mound for the Fire. He threw six innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out five.
O’Connell and sophomore Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central) each had two hits to lead Knox on offense.
After a low scoring game, the teams scored runs in bunches in the nightcap.
Beloit jumped out to a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the second inning. The Prairie Fire responded with single tallies in the second and third frames to trim the deficit to 5-2.
After two scoreless frames, the Bucs plated three runs in the fifth to extend the advantage to 8-2.
The Fire made Beloit pay for two errors in the home half of the fifth when junior Matt Lee (Fullerton, CA, Servite) drove home a pair of runs with a single to get within 8-4.
Knox fought all the way back and tied the game at 8-8 going into the ninth inning. Beloit briefly grabbed the upper hand with a run and a 9-8 lead.
Knox tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by White.
The Buccaneers put five runs on the board in the 10th inning. The Prairie Fire scored twice, but it wasn’t enough as Beloit won the slugfest.
Junior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL, Farmington Community) (1-1) took the loss on the mound for Knox, which equaled the Bucs’ 13 hits in the contest.
Lee and junior Kyle Walenga (San Francisco, CA, Waldorf) had three hits apiece and two runs batted in to lead the Prairie Fire on offense. Junior Ryan Hoffman (Sugar Grove, IL, Marmion Academy) added a hit and two RBI for Knox.
Knox takes the field again on Saturday at home against Midwest Conference South Division foe Grinnell College. The first game of the doubleheader against the Pioneers is at 1:00.
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