Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score
Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire ended the regular season on a high note by sweeping Millikin University in a doubleheader on Tuesday at Blodgett Field.
Knox held on to win the first game 10-9 before taking the finale 4-3 on a walk-off base hit. The Fire goes into the Midwest Conference Tournament later this week with three straight wins and four in the last five games.
Millikin (12-28) began Tuesday’s games at Knox with a 3-15 road record, but had been playing better of late with four wins in their last six games – including two at conference (CCIW) rival Augustana College on May 5 and 6.
The Big Blue didn’t go quietly in either game. Millikin, with 17 home runs coming in, hit five in the opener and just missed on a couple of other drives. A solo shot resulted in the first run of the game in the second inning for a brief 1-0 lead.
The Prairie Fire grabbed a 2-1 lead when senior David Jewell (Spring Grove, IL, Richmond-Burton) doubled home both runs with two outs.
Millikin used the long ball to add three runs in the third inning and reclaim the lead at 4-2. The first two hitters reached and scored when Theo Facer homered off Knox first-year hurler Andrew Sparrow (Sullivan, IL, Sullivan). After the fourth straight batter in the inning got on base with a single, Sparrow settled in and got the next three out on fly balls.
The Fire answered with four runs in the home half of the third to go up 6-4. Knox loaded the bases thanks to a pair of walks and a hit batsman with one out. Junior Ryan Hoffman (Sugar Grove, IL, Marmion Academy) brought two runners home with a single. Junior Kyle Walenga (San Francisco, CA, Waldorf) followed with a two run single.
The hit parade continued in the fourth inning for both teams.
Millikin’s first batter was hit by a pitch and scored on a home run by David Peters to tie the game at 6-6. Dan Weber gave Millikin a 7-6 lead when he went deep.
The Prairie Fire put four runs on the board for a second straight inning, this time with one swing of the bat. Junior Matt Lee (Fullerton, CA, Servite) led off with a walk and then stole second base. Sophomore Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to put two men on for Knox. Sophomore Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central) walked to load the bases for junior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg). Waver made reliever Shawn Stone pay with his sixth home run of the season, a grand slam that gave the Prairie Fire a 10-7 lead.
Both teams’ bullpens worked scoreless fifth and sixth innings of the seven inning game.
Knox sophomore Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) was called on to get the last three outs.
Armstrong hit the first batter he faced before getting the next two hitters to fly out. Peters drilled his second home run of the game, a two run blast, to trim the Prairie Fire lead to one. Armstrong hit his second batter of the inning with a pitch when Weber, the Big Blue’s top run producer, stepped into the batter’s box. Weber hit a ground ball toward third base that Armstrong fielded and fired to first base in time to record the save, his third of the season, and preserve the win for Knox.
Sophomore Paul Mills (Moline, IL, Moline) (2-2) earned the win after throwing 2 2/3 shutout innings and allowing three hits. Stone (0-3) suffered the loss.
Millikin’s pitchers kept the Prairie Fire offense quiet in the second game until the fifth inning.
The Big Blue scored all three of their runs in the first inning when Weber homered with two runners on base off Knox starter, junior Nikko Juarez (Momence, IL, Bishop McNamara).
Five Prairie Fire pitchers combined to hold Millikin to three hits in six shutout innings the rest of the way.
Knox got on the scoreboard with a run in the fifth inning. Senior Dexter Brown (Saint Joseph, MN, St. John's Prep) drove in Jewell, who led off with a walk.
The Fire plated two more runs in the sixth to tie the game at 3-3. Weaver got things started with a double and came around to score on a double by sophomore Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, IL, Hoffman Estates). Hoffman singled and Walenga sacrificed Smoy to third and Hoffman to second base. Smoy scored the tying run on Jewell’s fly ball to shallow right field.
White took the mound in the top of the seventh. He allowed a walk and struck out two in his inning of work.
White, after holding Millikin with his arm, beat the Big Blue with his bat.
Brown singled with one out in the Prairie Fire’s last at bat and then moved into scoring position by swiping second base, his eighth steal of the season. Lee followed with a walk before White singled, bringing Brown home with the winning run.
White (1-0) earned the victory on the mound in relief. The Big Blue’s Jon Steele (2-5) was saddled with the loss.
Brown was 3-for-3 and Smoy added two hits for the Prairie Fire.
Knox, with 16 wins for the first time since the 1992 team won 18, next plays in the Midwest Conference Tournament. The #2 seed from the MWC South Division, the Prairie Fire will need to continue playing well to keep the season going as long as possible.
Knox (16-17, 7-5 MWC) meets North Division champion St. Norbert College (23-11, 14-2) in the opening round of the tourney on Friday at 9:00 a.m. at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The Green Knights have won 15 of their last 16 games. St. Norbert’s only loss since April 16 was a 10-9 setback at Carthage College (WI) on May 1.
Knox began its turnaround this season after a 9-3 loss to Illinois Wesleyan on April 10 at Sundberg Field. The Prairie Fire has won 10 of 15 games since then, including six of eight against Midwest Conference teams.
Grinnell College, which won the MWC South Division for the third straight season to earn the #1 seed, takes on Beloit College on Friday at 9:00 a.m. on their home field.
All other MWC Tournament games after Friday will be played at Grinnell.
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