MONMOUTH, Illinois - The Knox Prairie Fire baseball team came out on top in a close battle against the Monmouth College Fighting Scots, winning 5-4. The victory puts their season record at 6-22, with a 4-13 record in Midwest Conference play to boot.

Given that both teams are very familiar with each other, the game got off to an intense start. Caley Hay had a good day on the mound, going 6.2 innings while letting up four runs and striking out two. Most of the damage came in the third inning, when the Fighting Scots loaded the bases and eventually ended up scoring three runs. Not to be deterred, the Prairie Fire struck back in the fifth inning for two runs of their own, thanks in part to a Kendall Ballman double. Despite Monmouth adding another run back in the sixth inning, Knox hitters continued to apply pressure to the Fighting Scot pitching. Chris McTeague had a patient approach at the plate and it paid off, as he ended with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate and had an important hit in the seventh inning to help tie the game at 4-4. Heads up baserunning by Braden Ogden and Brayden Bathgate also contributed to this rally, and when Evan Laws singled in McTeague to take the lead for the Prairie Fire, the team erupted with cheers. Utilizing a shutdown save by EJ Roncone, his second of the year, Knox was able to close out an important victory.

"It was nice to get a win after some close games this week," said associate head coach James Clark. "We will now try to finish the season strong with just over a week to play."

The Prairie Fire will look to keep the momentum going when they travel to play Lawrence University this Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m.