LEBANON, Ill. – The Quincy University baseball team used early offense to take the three-game weekend series against McKendree. The Hawks won game three 6-2.
Play by Play
The Hawks started off their final game of the weekend with a bang. Lead off man
Chandler Purcell slapped a home run to right center to give the Hawks the early 1-0 advantage.
A walk by
Ray Greco and a double by
Cody Birdsong led to another run. QU had a 2-0 lead with no outs. The QU offense was not able to score again in the inning as starter nick Stroud took the mound.
Stroud sat the Bearcats down in order to keep QU ahead.
Quincy added another run in the top of the third inning.
Michael Nielsen drove home Greco with a single to the right side which gave Quincy 3-0 advantage.
Stroud worked another scoreless frame which sent the game to the top of the fourth. In that inning, the Hawks plated another run. With two runners on,
Nolan Snyder delivered a single to right field that allowed
Cole Evans to score. QU now held a 4-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, the Hawks added some insurance.
Lance Logsdon got on base with a one-out walk. A strikeout on the next batter made it two outs.
Right fielder
Cole Evans sent a shot to left center that was good for a double. Logsdon cruised around the bases to give Quincy a 5-0 lead. The Hawks added another run with two outs after a double from senior
TJ Tamaccio scored Evans.
Nick Stroud held the Bearcats scoreless through four innings, but McKendree broke through in the bottom of the fifth.
A single, steal, and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs. A bunt by McKendree advanced the runners into scoring position. The next batter singled to score both runners and bring the score to 6-2.
Stroud got the next two outs to limit the damage and send the game to the sixth inning.
In the seventh,
Michael Nielsen led off with a double, but the next three batters were retired to squash the scoring chance.
Stroud worked around a two-out walk to get through the seventh inning unscathed as the Hawks still led 6-2. He would finish the day after the seventh inning. Stroud finished with two earned runs off only two hits with five strikeouts.
The Hawks were unable to plate any runs in the final two innings, but
Sam Stephens came out of the bullpen to try and secure the win for QU.
Stephens worked around two walks in the eighth inning to keep the lead at four runs. In the ninth, Stephens closed the game with a 1-2-3 inning.
The Hawks ended the weekend with a 6-2 win to take the series from the Bearcats.
Stat Leaders
Cole Evans - 2-4, 2B, RBI
TJ Tamaccio - 2-4, 2B, RBI
Nick Stroud - 7IP, 2ER, 2H, 5K, 3BB
Hawks' Record
7-2
Next Game
Quincy plays at home against Upper Iowa on Wednesday (March 6) in doubleheader action.
