Decatur, IL – The Prairie Fire finished the regular season with a pair of setbacks at Millikin University on Tuesday.

Millikin won the first game of the doubleheader 4-0 and then took the nightcap 6-2, both seven inning contests, to snap a five game losing streak. 

Knox had won nine of its last 10 games, including four straight, and was 10-2 on the road this season going into the twinbill against the Big Blue.

Millikin (10-25) held the Prairie Fire to four hits in the opening game.  The hosts scored a run in the third inning, added another in the fourth, and extended the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

First-year pitcher Jeremy Gogoel (Hampshire, IL, Hampshire) drew the starting assignment for the Prairie Fire and was charged with the loss.  Gogoel (0-2) allowed four runs, three of them earned, and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings with one strikeout.  Senior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL, Farmington) and first-year Mitch Weissenhofer (Homewood, IL, Marian Catholic) combined to blank the Millikin hitters the rest of the way.

Junior Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central) was the only Knox player to reach base twice in the game, going 1-for-2 with a walk.

Virtually all of the Prairie Fire regulars sat the second game while several younger players received valuable time on the field.

Millikin plated a run off of Knox sophomore hurler Andrew Sparrow (Sullivan, IL, Sullivan) in the bottom of the first inning for an early 1-0 lead.  The Big Blue touched up Sparrow for three more runs in the third inning to extend the advantage to 4-0.

Sparrow (0-2), making his second start of the season, exited the game after pitching three innings and giving up four runs, six hits, and two walks.  He also hit three batters and recorded one strikeout.

The Prairie Fire (21-11) cut the deficit in half with two runs in the top of the fifth inning.  Junior Michael O'Connell (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) doubled home sophomore Michael Bohnhoff (Omaha, NE, Mt. Michael Benedictine) for the first run.  First-year Blake Newberg (Moline, IL, Rock Island Alleman) hit a sacrifice fly that scored sophomore Derek Cochran (Auburn, IL, Auburn) to make it a 4-2 game.

Millikin opened up a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth after scoring twice against Knox first-year pitcher Marty Salazar (Normal, IL, Normal Community).  Salazar tossed two innings and surrendered two runs, three hits, three walks and struck out one.

The Big Blue outhit the Fire 9-6.

O'Connell was 2-for-2 with two walks to lead Knox.  Junior Bryan Leslie (Richmond, IL, Richmond-Burton) also had two hits.

The Prairie Fire begin play in the Midwest Conference Tournament on Friday.  Knox, the MWC South Division's #1 seed, takes on St. Norbert College (24-11), the #2 seed from the MWC North, at 9 a.m. at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The winner plays on Friday at 1:00 p.m. against the winner of the game between Ripon College and Grinnell College.  The loser of the Knox/St. Norbert game plays the loser of the Ripon/Grinnell game on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Information about the Midwest Conference Tournament is available on the Midwest Conference website at http://www.midwestconference.org/sports/2013/5/2/BB_0502133256.aspx?path=baseball and also on the Ripon College athletics website at http://redhawks.ripon.edu/news/2013/5/7/BB_0507135106.aspx

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