Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Galesburg, Ill. – The Prairie Fire lost both games of a Midwest Conference South Division doubleheader against Grinnell College on a cold Wednesday afternoon at Blodgett Field.

Grinnell had two big innings and downed Knox 18-4 (8 innings) in the opener before completing the sweep 9-5 in the finale.  The second game was called because of darkness after the seventh inning.

The two games were originally scheduled on April 27 at Blodgett Field, but rain forced them to be moved to today.

The Pioneers (16-14, 9-3 MWC South) snapped a 3-3 tie in the first game with seven runs in the top of the seventh to break it open.  They plated eight more runs in the eighth to round out the scoring.

Knox (13-17, 2-10 MWC South) came back from a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fourth for a one-run lead.  Sophomore Austin Bevenue (Millstadt, IL, Belleville Althoff) tied the game with a two-run single and junior Austen Lake (Albers, IL, Breese Central) followed with an RBI single to put the Prairie Fire on top 3-2.

Grinnell pulled even at 3-3 with a run-scoring single in the top of the sixth.

Knox scored its final run of the game on a solo homer by sophomore Blake Newberg (Moline, IL, Rock Island Alleman), his fourth of the season, in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Nathaniel Grady (Antelope, CA, Oakmont) suffered the loss in relief after working 2/3 of an inning.  He's now 2-1 on the season.

First-year Alec Jordan (Spring Grove, IL, Richmond-Burton) made his second start of the season and pitched well.  He allowed just one hit, walked two, and struck out one in three innings on the mound.

Bevenue, Lake, first-year Paul Sanders (Rock Island, IL, Rock Island), and first-year Ryan Weitendorf (New Lenox, IL, Lincoln-Way East) had two hits each for Knox.

The Pioneers outhit the Prairie Fire 18-10.

Grinnell jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the nightcap before Knox made a late run.

The Pioneers plated two runs in the first inning off Prairie Fire sophomore starter Jeremy Gogoel (Elgin, IL, Hampshire) for the early lead.  After a scoreless second frame, Grinnell added four runs in the third, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth inning for a nine-run cushion.

Knox whittled two runs off the deficit in the bottom of the fifth.  Sophomore Cody Boal (The Sea Ranch, CA, Dunn School) brought in the first tally on a ground out to short and Sanders smacked an RBI single.

The Prairie Fire scored twice again in the bottom of the sixth to trim the Grinnell lead to five.  Senior Michael O'Connell (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) hit a sacrifice fly that scored Weitendorf and Newberg doubled in a run to make it 9-4.

Knox made it three straight innings with a run on a single by Weitendorf that scored senior Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South).

The umpires and the two head coaches met after the seventh inning and agreed to end the game because of darkness.

Grinnell held a 12-9 advantage in total hits.

Tallman led the Prairie Fire with three hits while Newberg and Weitendorf contributed two apiece.

Gogoel (0-3) was charged with the loss.  Junior Ryder Borre (Wilmette, IL, New Trier), the fifth Knox pitcher used in the game, shut the Pioneers down over the final two innings.  He surrendered only one hit in 1 2/3 innings of relief, recording one walk and one strikeout.

The Prairie Fire square off next against Monmouth College.  The first game of the MWC South doubleheader starts at 12:00 p.m. at Monmouth's Glasgow Field.