Grinnell, IA – The Prairie Fire starts a new season this week at the 2012 Midwest Conference Baseball Tournament.
Knox (16-17, 7-5 MWC), the #2 seed from the MWC South Division, takes on North Division top seed St. Norbert College (23-11, 14-2) on Friday at 9:00 a.m. at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. South Division champion Grinnell College (16-18, 8-4) plays at the same time against Beloit College (17-19, 9-7), the North Division’s #2 seed, at Grinnell.
The Prairie Fire has had a solid season so far. The team qualified for the conference tournament and had chance to be the top seed and host the games going into the final weekend of league play after being picked to finish third in the MWC South in the preseason coaches’ poll. In addition, Knox’s 16 victories are the most since the 1992 team won 18 games.
The Prairie Fire, which has won 10 of 15 games since a 9-3 setback against Illinois Wesleyan on April 10 dropped the team’s record to 6-12, owns a 6-3 record over the last nine games against Midwest Conference competition, including a come from behind 12-11 victory in game two of a doubleheader last Sunday at Grinnell.
Knox trailed the Pioneers 6-0 after three innings and 11-4 going into the top of the seventh. The Fire plated eight runs in the last three innings – two in the seventh, four in the eighth, and two in the ninth to earn the win.
Junior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) drove home the deciding run with a two out single in the ninth inning.
Knox banged out 13 hits in the finale after managing just a pair of singles in a 2-0 setback in the first game.
The Prairie Fire swept Millikin University in the final games of the regular season and at home on Tuesday 10-9 and 4-3.
Weaver, Knox’s top run producer with six home runs and 38 runs batted in, hit a grand slam in the fourth inning of the first game that turned a 7-6 deficit into a 10-7 Prairie Fire lead. He also has a team-high 11 doubles and two triples while batting .366. Weaver’s .634 slugging percentage is third in the MWC.
Sophomore Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central) threw one shutout inning of relief to earn the win on the mound in the finale. He also drove home the game-winning run with a single in Knox’s last at bat.
The Prairie Fire ended the regular season with a .293 team batting average and a .401 on base percentage.
White leads the team with a .384 average and has driven in 18 runs. Junior Michael Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South) is second behind Weaver in runs batted in with 23 to go with his .312 average. Other big producers include junior Ryan Hoffman (Sugar Grove, IL, Marmion Academy) .337/1 HR/16 RBI, sophomore Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, IL, Hoffman Estates) .330/21 RBI, and junior Kyle Walenga (San Francisco, CA, Waldorf) .301/16 RBI.
The Prairie Fire meets red hot St. Norbert College in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Green Knights, seeking their first MWC title since 2003, beat Ripon College in four straight games on May 5 and 7 to eliminate the Red Hawks in their bid to qualify for the tournament.
St. Norbert won 11 straight games between April 16 and 29 before falling at Carthage College (WI) 10-9 on May 1. Following the recent four wins against Ripon, the Knights are 15-1 in their last 16 games.
Ripon was in second place in the North Division with a 7-5 record before dropping all four games against SNC. Beloit split two doubleheaders with the Red Hawks on April 29 and 30 to finish conference play with a 9-7 record. The Bucs had to sweat out the results of Ripon’s games against St. Norbert to before knowing if they would be in or out of this year’s tournament.
The Knights lead the Midwest Conference with a .334 team batting average and a .434 on base percentage, as well as runs scored (290), hits (400), and runs batted in (265).
Matt Hannon leads SNC with a .391 batting average, a league-best 59 hits, and he drove in 35 runs. Also a threat at the plate is Chad Ljunggren (.352/28 RBI) and Garrick Fisher (.352/51 HITS/2 HR/38 RBI).
First-year pitcher Kenny Blanchard (Morton Grove, IL, Niles West) tops the Prairie Fire staff with four wins in 14 appearances. Junior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL, Farmington Community) leads the regulars with a 3.35 ERA and 16 appearances, a team-high. First-year Nathaniel Grady (Antelope, CA, Oakmont) has come on strong to earn a pair of victories and hold opponents to a .218 batting average. Sophomore Peter Marquardt (Clarendon Hills, lL, Hinsdale Central), with eight starts among his 11 appearances, and sophomore reliever Bryan Leslie, each has three wins. Leslie, with a 3.72 ERA in 11 appearances, has worked exclusively out of the bullpen. Sophomore Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) has pitched in 15 games, splitting his duties between starting and the bullpen, and has recorded all three Knox saves this season.
The workhorse of St. Norbert’s pitching staff is Kevin Nutley. He’s 3-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 57.1 innings of work. Nutley has thrown two complete games saved two games. Josh Honzik is 5-2 with a 4.17 ERA and two complete games in eight starts. Travis Mason is the team leader in wins with six (6-1) to go with a 3.98 ERA. Nathan Schadrie is 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 12 appearances, 11 of them in relief.
The Midwest Conference Championship page which includes the schedule, game webcasts, directions, hotel accommodations, and more is available at http://www.midwestconference.org/sports/2012/5/7/BB_0507124855.aspx?id=306
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