Game #1 box score
Game #2 box score
Galesburg, IL – Illinois College prevented the Prairie Fire from winning its first home games of the season
The Lady Blues took both games of a doubleheader on Sunday against Knox 15-3 and 4-1. The games also marked the start of Midwest Conference South Division play for the Fire.
IC scored in the first three innings of the opening game, including a four run third on a grand slam homer by Paige Meyer, to build an 8-0 lead.
Knox got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, IL, Gardner-South Wilmington) doubled, was sacrificed to third base and came home on a SAC fly by first-year player Jenna Butler (Downers Grove, IL, Downers Grove North).
Illinois College added a run in the top of the fifth for a 9-1 lead. The Fire plated a run in the bottom half of the inning when junior Jill Krippel (Plainfield, IL, Plainfield Central) singled with two outs and came around to score on a double by Avecena Hollingsworth (Tigard, OR, Tigard) to trim the IC lead to 9-2.
The Lady Blues kept hitting and put the game well out of reach with a six run sixth inning to boost the advantage to 15-2.
Knox scored the last run of the game in the bottom of the sixth when Eisha led off with her first home run of the season. She finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Hollingsworth also had two hits and a run batted in for Knox. Eisha (2-4) took the loss in the circle. She allowed 13 earned runs and 16 hits while walking five and striking out one.
The teams played a much closer game two.
IC scored a run in the first inning, which the Prairie Fire matched to tie the contest at 1-1 going into the second stanza.
First-year player Rhiannon Neuville-Norton (Eugene, OR, South Eugene) singled with one out. She advanced to third on a double by Eisha and scored on an RBI groundout by Butler.
The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the Lady Blues (7-10, 4-0 MWC South) scored twice in the top of the fourth inning for a 3-1 lead. Another run by IC in the fifth made it a 4-1 advantage that was plenty of support for IC hurler Erin Rutledge.
The Prairie Fire (3-7, 0-2 MWC South) had seven hits against Rutledge (4-1), who allowed just one earned run and struck out six in a complete game victory.
Eisha, first-year player Brittney Price (Wyoming, IL, Stark County), and Neuville-Norton had two hits apiece for Knox.
Sophomore Anna Lemen (Cincinnati, OH, Cincinnati Country Day) pitched a good game for Knox but was saddled with the loss. Lemen (1-3) gave up three earned runs on 11 hits.
The Prairie Fire resumes play at home on Friday against Monmouth College. The teams play a doubleheader that starts at 3:00 p.m.
Follow Prairie Fire athletics on Twitter
