Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
APPLETON, Wisconsin – The Prairie Fire and Lawrence University will see their seasons come to an end in the next few days, and both have gone through a difficult two-week stretch that took them out of contention in their respective division races.  But neither squad appeared to be playing out the string when they squared off in a doubleheader on Saturday at Whiting Field.

Both games were intensely contested with a combined five ties and five lead changes.  A run in the bottom of the ninth ultimately decided the opener as the Vikings edged Knox 5-4.  The finale turned into an offensive slugfest that featured 29 runs, 26 hits, 12 walks, and two batters hit by pitches.  Lawrence regained the lead for good during a six-run seventh inning and defeated the Prairie Fire 17-12 to complete the sweep.

Sophomore Drake Sykes (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) led the Prairie Fire's offensive charge with three home runs – including a pair in game two – and five RBI.  He was 6-for-9 at the plate in the twinbill and set a new single-season record for hits with 58.

Two more homers came off the bat of sophomore Ryan Weitendorf (New Lenox, IL, Lincoln-Way East).  He hit a solo shot in the first game and a three-run blast in the nightcap, his team-leading seventh of the season.

Weitendorf's first drive pulled Knox into a 1-1 tie in the top of the second inning.  Lawrence recouped the lead briefly on a solo homer in the bottom of the third before Sykes went deep with the bases empty in the Knox fourth to make it 2-2.

The Vikings added runs in the fourth and seventh innings to extend to a 4-2 advantage.

The Prairie Fire (9-26) received a lift from senior Austen Lake (Albers, IL, Breese Central), who had a pinch hit RBI double and then came around to score in the top of the eighth to tie the game, 4-4.

A two-out double that drove in a runner from first in the bottom of the ninth gave Lawrence the walk-off win.

Senior Ryder Borre (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) was charged with the loss in a relief role.  He allowed two runs on three hits, walked one, and struck out five over 2 2/3 innings.

Knox had nine hits in the game, led by Sykes with three.  Senior Andrew Sparrow (Sullivan, IL, Sullivan) added two hits while he reached base a third time after being hit by a pitch.

The Prairie Fire came out strong in the nightcap.  First-year Matt McCaffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) delivered a two-run single for the early lead.  The Vikings pushed a run across in the bottom of the second, but Weitendorf's second homer of the day made it 5-1.

A two-out error by Knox in the bottom of the third opened the door to a five-run inning and a 6-5 Lawrence lead.

Borre brought his team back in the top of the fourth with an RBI single that knotted the score, 6-6.  The Vikings quickly recovered the lead with three runs in their half of the fourth.

A three-run homer by Sykes in the sixth and a single by first-year Auggie Ward (Freeburg, IL, Gibault) in the seventh that drove in two swung the lead back to Knox, 11-9.

The Vikings took control with six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Sykes connected for his fifth home run of the season with the bases empty in the top of the eighth to close the gap to 15-12, but that was the end of the scoring for the Prairie Fire.

Lawrence put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth.

Both teams finished with 13 hits while Knox issued eight walks, hit two batters, and committed six errors that had a hand in eight unearned runs.

Sykes extended his hitting streak to eight straight games with three hits, two home runs, four RBI, four runs scored, and one walk.  Borre and McCaffrey also had three hits, sophomore Paul Sanders (Rock Island, IL, Rock Island) doubled twice and scored three runs, while Weitendorf reached twice and drove in three runs.

Junior Marty Salazar (Normal, IL, Normal Community) received the loss after surrendering five runs and two hits in one inning out of the bullpen.

Knox closes out the season on the road against Millikin University on Tuesday at 5:30.