Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire softball team will play its first home games a little sooner than expected.

Knox and Midwest Conference South Division foe Illinois College will meet in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Knox Softball Field.

The games were originally scheduled to be played at IC on Saturday.  However, Jacksonville reportedly received between nine and 11 inches of snow last weekend, leaving the softball field at Illinois College in unplayable shape.

The addition of the games with the Lady Blues means the Knox Softball Field will be the site of a Prairie Fire doubleheader eight days earlier than previously planned.  Knox wasn’t set to play at home until April 7 against Lake Forest College.

The Prairie Fire (1-9, 0-0 MWC South) posted a 2-1 win against Hamilton College (NY) in their last game, the finale of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.  First-year pitcher Karli Shields (Naperville, IL, Neuqua Valley) earned the win with a complete game two hitter.  Offensively, sophomore Kayla Behrens (Moline, IL, Moline) had three hits and junior Avecena Hollingsworth (Tigard, OR, Tigard) added two.

Illinois College (6-5, 0-0 MWC South), meanwhile, has won four straight games – including back-to-back shutouts.  The Lady Blues blanked Rose Hulman 5-0 in the second game of a doubleheader sweep in Terre Haute, Indiana on March 16.  IC followed with a 14-0 victory against cross town rival MacMurray College five days later.  The Highlanders managed just two hits in the game against Illinois College.

Knox is seeking its first win over the Lady Blues since a 5-1 victory on April 23, 2003 at IC.

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