Game #1 box score
Game #2 box score
Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire came from behind to take both games of a doubleheader against Monmouth College on Tuesday at Blodgett Field.
Knox won the first Midwest Conference South Division contest against the Fighting Scots 11-8 before working overtime to earn a 10-9, 12 inning victory in the nightcap.
Monmouth (8-16, 2-4 MWC) led 9-5 going into the bottom of the ninth inning of the second game when the Prairie Fire (9-12, 3-2 MWC) scored four runs to tie and force extra innings.
Knox led off the ninth with three straight singles. Junior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) cleared the bases with a one out double to cut the deficit to 9-8. Sophomore Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, IL, Hoffman Estates) tied the game at 9-9 with an RBI double. Fighting Scots hurler Zach Myers came on in relief and got the final two outs of the inning.
Senior David Jewell (Spring Grove, IL, Richmond-Burton) drove in the winning run for the Prairie Fire with a two out single off Myers that scored junior Ryan Hoffman (Sugar Grove, IL, Marmion Academy), who drew a walk to get on base.
Sophomore Bryan Leslie (Richmond, IL, Richmond-Burton) earned the win on the mound for Knox. He tossed five shutout innings of relief and allowed three hits. Myers, who threw 3 1/3 innings and surrendered one hit and one earned run, took the loss.
Monmouth outhit Knox 15-13 in the game. Weaver and Smoy both drove in three runs for the Prairie Fire. Smoy and Dexter Brown (Saint Joseph, MN, St. John's Prep), who homered, had three hits apiece. Mitch Comstock had three RBIs for the Scots and Andrew Baudino contributed three hits.
Knox came back from an 8-4 deficit going into the bottom of the seventh inning of the first game. The Prairie Fire grabbed a 9-8 lead after plating five runs in the frame. Four runs scored on two-run singles by Hoffman and junior Michael Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South).
First-year hurler Kenny Blanchard (Morton Grove, IL, Niles West) held Monmouth scoreless over the last two innings while the Prairie Fire added two more runs in the eighth.
Blanchard earned the win after throwing 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief. Luke Gschwendtner suffered the loss. He allowed two runs, one of them earned, and one hit in 1/3 of an inning of relief.
The Scots banged out 14 hits and the Prairie Fire had 13 in the game.
Hoffman had three hits and drove in three runs for Knox. Sophomore Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South ) also had a three-hit game for the hosts. Ryan Crandall had three hits and an RBI for Monmouth. Mitch Johnson contributed two runs batted in and Caleb Ruyle homered for the Fighting Scots.
The Prairie Fire plays at Augustana College Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
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