Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Galesburg, Ill. – The Prairie Fire wrapped up the season by taking the first of two close games against Millikin University on Tuesday afternoon at Blodgett Field.
Knox opened with a 5-4 victory and dropped the finale 6-5 in nine innings.   Both games were scheduled as seven inning contests.

The Prairie Fire (16-20) started fast, scoring four first inning runs in game one.  Senior

(Spring Grove, IL, Richmond-Burton) blanked Millikin over the first three innings before a hiccup in the top of the fourth.  He uncorked a wild pitch that scored a runner from third base that sliced the Prairie Fire lead in half, 2-1.

Jordan tossed five innings in a no decision.  He surrendered four runs, six hits, and two walks while striking out a season-high seven.

The Big Blue (9-31) took their first lead of the day at 4-2 with three runs in the fifth inning.  The visitors drew a one-out walk and followed with three straight singles that brought in two runners.  The third run scored on a two-out single.

Knox responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to even the score, 4-4.  Sanders belted a single that scored sophomore Cody Boal (The Sea Ranch, CA, Dunn School).  Osborn came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and was hit by a pitch to bring in Tallman.  Millikin escaped the inning with pop up to second base.

The visitors reclaimed the lead with a run in the top of the seventh.  The Prairie Fire loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with nobody out and knotted the contest, 5-5, on a sac fly by senior Michael O'Connell (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South).  The Big Blue got out of the jam with a strikeout and a pop up on the infield.

Millikin scored the deciding run with a two-out single in the top of the ninth inning.  Knox was unable to put together anther rally in the bottom of the ninth.

Junior Ryder Borre (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) suffered the hard-luck loss.  Borre (3-4) gave up two runs (one earned) and four hits in four innings of relief with two strikeouts.

Smoy was 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored for the Prairie Fire.  Tallman reached base three times with a hit and two walks, and he scored a pair of runs.

Knox won at least 16 games for the third consecutive season and has a combined 54 victories over the past three years.  That's the best three-year stretch of wins in the program's history.
 
Record Book: Smoy and Tallman
Erik Smoy set a new single-season record for runs batted in with 49 this year, and he's also the career leader with 121.  In addition, he set a new record for hits in a career with 164 – including a team-high 53 in 2014.  Phil Tallman established a new all-time mark for runs in a season with 47 in 2014, and the 112 runs he scored during his career is a Knox baseball record as well.  Smoy leads the Midwest Conference in runs batted in and Tallman is the league-leader in runs scored.