EUREKA, Ill. —
After winning its first two games of the season nearly two weeks ago, the Knox College baseball team was happy to have the clocks move forward one hour especially after its doubleheader at Eureka was postponed twice since Tuesday. But the wait was well worth it as the Prairie Fire swept the twinbill on Sunday afternoon, 4-3 and 8-3, improving to 4-0 on the season, their best start under head coach Jami Isaacson, now in his 26th year at the helm. The Red Devils, meanwhile, fell to 0-4 on the young season.
In the opener, Knox dented the scoreboard first with an unearned run in the third when sophomore Tyler Kemp stole second and the throw got away from the shortstop, allowing senior Etienne Thomas to score from third for a 1-0 lead. Eureka got that run back in the fourth, however, on an RBI double before Prairie Fire starter Leo Dircks (1-0) caught the next two batters looking at strike three to end the inning, giving him five punchouts in his outing.
The tie did not last long as Knox loaded the bases in the fifth with nobody out. The Red Devils got the first out on a force at the plate, but senior Holden Jones delivered a rare three-run single for a 4-1 advantage.
The score remained that way until the seventh and final inning. Senior reliever Brandon Ward got two quick outs, but Eureka sandwiched a double between two singles to close the gap to one. Ward kept his calm on the mound and fired a called third strike to end the game and earn his first save of the season. Brady Bertrand proved to be a strong middle man, twirling two innings of scoreless relief before yielding to Ward.
Junior Jeffrey Ripka (2-0) went the distance in game two for the Prairie Fire, holding the Red Devils to three runs, two earned, on four hits and one walk while fanning five in another seven-inning contest.
Although Knox scored a run on a passed ball in the first, Eureka put up solitary runs in the bottom half and the second inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Prairie Fire lineup went to work on left-hander Aaron Cabrera (0-2) in the third as junior Andrew Garrett produced an RBI single and Thomas ripped a two-run single to left for a 5-2 lead.
The Prairie Fire tacked on two more runs in the sixth on an RBI single off the bat of junior Henry Scholes and a grounder to short that scored first-year Hayden Derlein from third. The final Knox run scored in the fifth when Kemp scurried home from third on a wild pitch.
Garrett and Derlein each had three hits of the Prairie Fire's nine hits in the nightcap and are the only two players who have hit safely in the first four games.
- The last time Knox won its first four games of a season was 1999.
- The longest win streak at the start of a season in program history is 10, originally set in 1920 (team went 10-0 that year) and matched in 1986.
The Prairie Fire will look to extend their winning streak on Wednesday when they play a doubleheader at Anderson University in Indiana. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. (EDT) with links to the live stream and stats available on the Knox baseball schedule listed on PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox Athletics.
