Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
GALESBURG, Illinois – The Prairie Fire face an uphill climb in the Midwest Conference South Division after dropping both games of a doubleheader against Monmouth College on Saturday at Blodgett Field.

Knox rallied to tie both contests after falling behind early but never led in the 11-6 and 9-2 losses to the Fighting Scots, who moved to the top of the MWC South Division.

Sophomore Drake Sykes (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) led a fifth inning charge by the Prairie Fire in the opener after Monmouth built a 5-1 lead.  He hit a three-run homer and first-year Matt McCaffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier), who followed with a double, came around to score on an error to even the score, 5-5.

The Fighting Scots answered with a two-run shot in the top of the sixth to regain the lead for good.  They added three runs in the seventh and another in the top of the eighth for an 11-5 advantage.

Knox (6-13, 1-5) scored a run on an error in the bottom of the eighth before leaving the bases loaded.  Monmouth escaped another bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth.

The Fighting Scots singled home a run in the first and scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead against sophomore starting pitcher Alec Jordan (Spring Grove, IL, Richmond-Burton).

Senior Ryder Borre (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) cut the deficit in half with an RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth for the Prairie Fire.

A three-run top of the fifth for Monmouth (9-12, 4-2) made it 5-1.

Jordan (1-3) allowed five runs, nine hits, two walks, and struck out six in 4.2 innings on the mound.

Sophomore Alex Bell (Elgin, IL, Burlington Central) had three hits and scored two runs for Knox.  Sophomore Paul Sanders (Rock Island, IL, Rock Island) added two hits and a stolen base.

Monmouth limited the Prairie Fire to a pair of third inning runs in the doubleheader finale.

Junior Austin Bevenue (Millstadt, IL, Belleville Althoff) and Sykes hit back-to-back RBI singles in the bottom of the third to match the two runs scored by the Scots in the top half of the inning.

Monmouth moved ahead to stay in the top of the fourth, plating the first two of seven unanswered runs that swelled the lead to 9-2.

Knox left 14 runners on base and committed six errors in the game.

Junior Marty Salazar (Normal, IL, Normal Community) was charged with the loss despite a solid start, his first since the 2013 season.  Salazar (1-1) surrendered four runs (none earned) and three hits with one strikeout in four innings on the mound.

Bevenue and Sykes both had two hits and an RBI, while Bell singled and walked twice for the Prairie Fire.

Knox concludes the season series with the Fighting Scots in a doubleheader on Sunday in Monmouth that begins at 12:00 p.m.