The Prairie Fire baseball team dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader at Illinois College, 9-5 and 21-6. Knox College (5-30, 3-14) finishes the three-game series at Illinois College on Sunday at noon.
In the opener, Owen Shannon doubled home Clayton Rice for a 1-0 lead in the second. Illinois College answered, scoring two in the bottom half, then added three in the third for a 5-1 lead.
Knox cut the deficit in the fifth with two runs. Hayden Derlein singled home Tyler Kemp, and Jacob Halseth knocked in Shannon.
Despite Knox's efforts, Illinois College scored four in the bottom of the sixth, taking control of the game.
The Prairie Fire added two more in the top of the ninth as Nicholas Nitti singled home Kemp and Buckie Zamora, providing some late offense.Â
Kemp paced Knox with three hits and two runs. Nitti drove in two, and Rice added two hits, fueling the offense.
In game two, Knox led 1-0 after Aidan McMurtrie's RBI groundout in the first. Illinois College answered with six runs in the first, then two each in the second and third.
Still, the Prairie Fire tried a comeback, scoring three in the fourth. Kemp plated Zamora and Tyler Thiem, then Shannon singled home Kemp.
Illinois College answered with seven runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to maintain their lead.
Knox responded by tallying two in the sixth on RBI singles from Caysen Bamford and Luke Simpson, aiming to narrow the gap.
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