*updated 5/6/12*

Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire is a pair of victories away from a top seed and home field advantage in the Midwest Conference Baseball Tournament ahead of a pivotal series on Sunday at Grinnell College.

Knox (13-15, 6-3 MWC South) has already punched its ticket to the tournament on May 11 and 12 for the first time since 2008, when the Fire won the MWC title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament.  Knox secured its spot with a 12-0 win against Illinois College in the second game of a doubleheader on April 28 at Blodgett Field.

The Prairie Fire travels to defending MWC South champ Grinnell College (14-17, 6-3 MWC South) to resume a game that was suspended by darkness on April 7 tied at 8-8 going into the top of the ninth inning, followed by a doubleheader.  The Pioneers won the first game of the twin bill at Knox 21-8 after scoring nine runs in the first inning.

Knox had Saturday (May 5) off while Grinnell played a South Division doubleheader at Monmouth College (12-21, 4-8 MWC South).  The Fighting Scots did the Prairie Fire a huge favor by coming from behind in both games to beat the Pioneers 7-6 and 4-3.  A recap of the doubleheader by Grinnell College is available here.

Knox will be the #1 seed from the South Division and host the conference tournament by taking two of three games from Grinnell on Sunday.  The task won't be easy as the Pioneers have a 7-3 record at home this season.

The top seed from the South hosts the tourney this year while the #2 seed is on the road.

The Prairie Fire enters the weekend with seven wins in the last 10 games and is hitting the ball well.  Grinnell is scuffling at the wrong time for them and the right time for Knox.  The Pioneers dominated the Fighting Scots in a twin bill on April 28 at home, sweeping with wins of 10-0 and 6-0.

The Prairie Fire is batting .296 and averaging 6.6 runs per game.  Sophomore Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) leads the offense with a .417 average in 36 at bats.  Sophomore Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central), in 83 at bats, is flirting with a .400 average at .398 – among the best in the MWC.  White was a First Team All-Midwest Conference selection last season.

Junior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) has also been a serious threat for opponents at the plate.  He’s hitting .377, among the top 10 in the league, with five home runs and 33 RBI (#2 MWC).  Two others have 20 or more runs batted in – junior Michael Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South) (21) and sophomore Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, IL, Hoffman Estates) (20). 

Seven players are hitting over .300 while another is at .297.  Five players have at least 15 runs batted in and eight have on base percentages of .400 or better, with a ninth at .393.

The Pioneers have a .280 team batting average and rank third in the conference with 12 home runs compared to nine (#4 MWC) for the Prairie Fire.  Grinnell, averaging 5.7 runs per game, is second in the league with 56 stolen bases followed by Knox in third with 47.

Mike Nodzenski, who has earned numerous accolades – including First Team All-Midwest Conference – poses a major challenge at the plate.  He’s hitting .375 with seven home runs and 29 runs batted in to go along with a .496 on base percentage.

Michael Goldfein has also been a big run producer for the Pioneers.  He’s batting .320 with two homers, 23 RBI, and has a .400 on base percentage. 

In addition, Ronnie Gray and Drew Davis have been instrumental to Grinnell’s success.  Gray is batting .318 with 13 RBI.  Davis has one home run, 13 runs batted in and a team-high 14 stolen bases.

The Pioneer pitching staff has been solid for most of the season while a host of Prairie Fire hurlers have improved as the year has progressed.

For Knox, first-year pitcher Kenny Blanchard (Morton Grove, IL, Niles West) leads the staff with a 4-2 record in 12 appearances, four of them starts.  Sophomore Bryan Leslie (Richmond, IL, Richmond-Burton) has been a stopper out of the bullpen in either long or short relief.  He’s 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 10 appearances.  The opposition is hitting just .246 against him. 

Junior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL, Farmington Community) has appeared in the most games, 15, all in relief.  He threw 6 2/3 shutout innings out of the pen on April 28 in the first game of a doubleheader against Illinois College to lower his ERA to 3.41, second on the team behind Leslie. 

Sophomore Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) has appeared in 13 games, including five starts, and has both of the Prairie Fire’s saves.

First-year Nathaniel Grady (Antelope, CA, Oakmont) has put together two straight outstanding starts that led to Knox victories.  He allowed just two hits and an earned run in six innings pitched with two strikeouts in a no decision on April 21 against Monmouth.  The Prairie Fire won the game 3-2.  Grady won his last start to improve to 2-2 on the season when he tossed six shutout innings, scattering six hits and striking out two, in a 12-0 triumph on April 28 at home against Illinois College.

Andrew Kelly (4-2) and Ben Pope (4-1) both have four victories on the mound.  Kelly, who primarily pitches in relief, has a 2.81 ERA while Pope’s is 3.65.  Pope has two complete games and a shutout among his eight starts.  Opponents are batting just .230 against him. 

Other reliable hurler for the Pioneers include Will Pahos, who is 2-2 with a 4.35 earned run average in seven appearances, all starts, and Andrew Platt.  Platt has a team-low 2.77 ERA and in 13 appearances out of the bullpen.

Grinnell is providing live video of the games online at:
http://nmtv.live-s.cdn.bitgravity.com:1935/content:cdn-live/nmtv/live/e/mwc_grinnell2

Live stats will also be available online at:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/grinnell/baseball/scoreboard.aspx

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