WINTER HAVEN, Florida—The Prairie Fire baseball team is competing at the RussMatt Invitation during spring break.

Game 1 vs. Indiana-South Bend

The Prairie Fire bats came out swinging, building an early 6-0 lead thanks to three RBI from Matt Mueller (Silex, MO, Silex) and a Spencer Bauer (Madison, WI, Madison West) home-run.

Alec Jordan (Spring Grove, IL, Richmond-Burton) cruised through the first five innings on the mound, but two errors contributed to a 5-run sixth inning.

Knox tacked on a run in the bottom half of the sixth on a home-run by Auggie Ward (Freeburg, IL, Gibault).

The Titans pulled ahead 8-7 in the top of the seventh thanks to more Prairie Fire miscues.

Matt McCaffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) doubled in a run after a two-out double by Ryan Weitendorf (New Lenox, IL, Lincoln-Way East) to force extra innings.

Marty Salazar (Normal, IL, Normal Community) pitched three scoreless innings, before errors again led to a big twelfth inning for Indiana-South Bend.

Weitendorf finished 3-for-4 at the plate, Ward finished 2-for-6 with two runs scored and a run batted in, and Drake Sykes (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) added a 2-for-6 performance with two runs scored and an RBI. Mueller and Kam Wells (Champaign, IL, Champaign Central) also had two hits in five at bats. Mueller finished with three RBI.

Jordan gave up three hits and struck out eight in six innings pitched and Salazar allowed just two hits in his four innings.

Game 2 vs. FDU-Florham

The Prairie Fire put up four runs in the first two innings and starting pitcher Tom Janczur (Darien, IL, Downer's Grove South) allowed one run in the third inning. Knox took an 8-1 lead in the fifth, but a big fifth inning chased Janczur and Knox led only 8-7 after the frame.

Florham put up six more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 13-8 lead and the Prairie Fire managed one run in the top of the seventh to lose 13-9.

Janczur gave up two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked just one while giving up six hits.

Paul Sanders (Rock Island, IL, Rock Island) finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored.  Weitendorf went 2-for-3 with three RBI and Sykes also added a 2-for-3 performance. Wells managed two hits in four at bats with McCaffrey and Alex Bell (Elgin, IL, Burlington Central) each adding a hit.
 
Game 3 vs. FDU-Florham

The Devils struck first in this one, but the Prairie Fire responded with five runs in the bottom half of the first.

Florham tied it up in the top of the second off of starting pitcher Kyle Yang (Indian Head Park, IL, Lyons Township), but Knox again fought back with two runs in the bottom half.

Florham retook the lead with a three-run fifth before Knox tied it in the bottom half and took a 9-8 lead in the sixth. With two outs in the top of the seventh the Devils took advantage of a balk and an error to win 10-9.

Yang gave up six earned runs in five innings with four walks and a strikeout. He gave up six hits. Reliever Jack Barreca (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake North) gave up an earned run in two innings to take the tough luck loss.

McCaffrey finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish with three RBI.  Sanders, Sykes, Wells, and Andrew Recker (Huntingburg, IN, Southridge) all finished 2-for-4 while Weitendorf went 2-for-3. Bell added two RBI while Sanders, Sykes, Wells, and Recker each had one.

Game 4 vs. Kalamazoo

Knox fell to 0-5 with a 13-3 loss to Kalamazoo on Thursday. Zach Chainuck (Plainfield, IL, Plainfield East) drew the start for the Prairie Fire and gave up nine runs (six earned) in 2 1/3 innings. Zach Nitzel (Moline, IL, Moline) allowed four runs in an inning and two-thirds of relief while Logan Thake (Amboy, IL, Amboy) and Scott Fuchs (Roselle, IL, Lake Park) each pitched scoreless innings.

Sykes was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate while Bell finished 2-for-3. McCaffrey and Kosuke Nishitani (Plano, TX, Plano West) each added a hit as well. McCaffrey and Bell tallied RBI for the Prairie Fire.

Game 5 vs. Martin Luther

The Prairie Fire picked up their first win of the season with a 7-5 victory over Martin Luther on Friday.

Stryker Davies picked up the first win of his career giving up five runs (none earned) on eight hits and one walk in 4.1 innings pitched. Salazar picked up the first save of his career in the game.

Bell provided a good portion of the Knox offense going 3-for-4 on the day with a double and two triples. He knocked in two runs and scored two more. Sykes, Mueller, Recker, and Tristyn Ruiz (Waukegan, IL, Waukegan) each had two hits in the game.

Game 6 vs. Martin Luther

Knox broke a scoreless tie scoring two runs in the fourth inning. Martin Luther scored seven runs combine in the fifth and sixth innings to take the lead. The Prairie Fire's comeback attempt fell short with two runs in the seventh.

Dalton James (Homer, IL, Heritage) took the loss for Knox giving up five runs (two earned) on nine hits and a walk in five innings.

Sykes went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. McCaffrey drove in two runs while Weitendorf and Sanders drove in a run apiece.

Game 7 vs. New Paltz

The Prairie Fire took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning before New Paltz tied it up in the bottom of the fourth. Knox retook the lead in the top of the fifth before surrendering the lead to the Hawks in the bottom half. Trailing 5-2, the Prairie Fire battled back to take the lead 6-5 in the top of the sixth, but New Paltz tied it in the seventh and took the lead 8-6 in the eigth.

Alec Jordan gave up one earned run in 6.2 innings striking out six. Marty Salazar was saddled with the loss giving up one earned run in relief.

Bell finished 2-for-4 at the plate while McCaffrey and Weitendorf both finished 2-for-5. Weitendorf drove in three runs, Sykes drove in two, and McCaffrey added an RBI.