GRINNELL, Iowa — After suffering the worst loss in program history, the Knox College baseball team showed resilience and nearly rallied to earn a split of a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Grinnell College on Saturday afternoon, but the Prairie Fire left the bases loaded in the ninth to suffer a 4-2 loss. The host Pioneers (23-16, 11-9 MWC) set a program scoring record in the 32-3 opener — their second time reaching 30 runs this season — while the Prairie Fire (14-23, 6-14 MWC) had its skid extended to 11 games.
Trailing 4-1 entering the ninth inning in the nightcap, it looked as if Grinnell would wrap up the sweep quickly by retiring the first two batters. But junior Andrew Garrett beat out an infield hit, and junior Thomas Wilmot — who had homered earlier in the game for the lone Knox run to that point — did so as well to breathe life into the Prairie Fire. Senior Etienne Thomas was plunked, as was senior pinch hitter Holden Jones, forcing in Garrett from third to close the gap to two.
The Pioneers summoned Matthew Nakamoto from the bullpen, who quelled the uprising by getting the final out on strikes to earn his fifth save of the year. He preserved the win for starter Jakob Runkel (4-4), who surrendered just one run on five hits and a pair of walks of seven stanzas, striking out six.
It was a scoreless affair through five innings with sophomore Leo Dircks (1-5) serving up the goose eggs for Knox. But Grinnell finally put two runs on the board in the sixth against the right-hander on a two-run blast off the bat of Connor Goodson, his third homer of the day. Wilmot countered with his solo blast, his team-leading third of the year, with one gone in the seventh, but the Pioneers panned for two more runs in their half as they knocked Dircks out of the game.
Grinnell quickly set the tone in the first game with an RBI double in the first before exploding for 10 runs in the second stanza. The first four trotted home on a Stuart Cash grand slam, and Goodson also put one over the fence for a two-run shot.
The Prairie Fire made an effort to respond, scoring three in the third on a RBI double by Aidan McMurtrie, a sacrifice fly off the bat of first-year Hayden Derlein and an RBI single courtesy of sophomore Nicholas Nitti. But the Pioneers continued to pile on the runs, scoring four in the fourth as Goodson hit a three-run blast, nine in the fifth with another three-run shot, this time by Mac McCain, and seven more in the sixth.
Shea Goel (3-1), who yielded three runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning four over five frames, was the recipient of the excessive run support. Junior Jeff Ripka (4-5) uncharacteristically struggled with his control and suffered the loss.
Knox will conclude its 2025 season on Sunday with the final game of the three-game series with Grinnell at Blodgett Field in Galesburg. The five graduating seniors will be honored before the game for Senior Day, as will long-time athletic trainer Scott Sunderland, who announced his retirement after more than three decades on staff. First pitch will be at noon with all the festivities streamed live through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox Athletics.
