LEBANON, Ill. - Quincy pounded out 17 hits for 18 runs in the series-clinching victory over the Bearcats of McKendree on Sunday (Apr. 28) sending eight of those hits over the wall and scoring in every inning but the first. Three long balls from
Joe Huffman along with two more from
Jake Vitale for his second multi-homer game of the series drove in half the Hawk runs in an 18-10 win.
MCK got on the board in the bottom of the first on a pair of singles and a double to plate a pair and lead 2-0 after one.
Quincy scored the next five runs, getting one in the top of the second on a two-out bomb from Vitale before adding four runs in the fifth on back-to-back big flies from
Dustin Dupont and Huffman, the first a two-run shot, to lead 4-2.
JD Ortiz left the yard two hitters later for the third homer of the inning and a 5-2 advantage.
McKendree evened the tally in the bottom half of the inning using a couple walks, single and double to bring home three and knot the score at 5-5 after three innings.
QU added a run in the fourth on a fielders choice before the Bearcats answered with one of their own in the bottom half of the inning to make it 6-6.
The Hawks added unanswered runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh; using a two-run homer off the bat of Vitale in the fifth before getting two more round-trippers from
David Broughton and
Joe Huffman in the sixth to lead 11-6.
A sac fly from Boynton along with a run-scoring double from Dupont made it 13-6 until Huffman lifted his third home run of the game to conclude the scoring at 15-6 in the seventh.
Meanwhile on the bump, Quincy got a great showing from reliever
Josh Hempelman, who came on in the fifth inning and opened his three scoreless frames of work with an immaculate inning for three of his four strikeouts during the appearance.
QU scored twice in the eighth on a pair of free passes with the bases juiced before McKendree got back on the board in the next half inning. A single and double set up a run-scoring wild pitch and ground ball to push across a pair and make it 17-8.
The Hawks added their final run in the ninth on a single to right center from
Cole Erickson before surrendering a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to close the book on an 18-10 winner.
Next Up
The Hawks look forward to the final series of the regular season next weekend, playing host to the Prairie Stars of Illiniois-Springfield for a four-game set starting on Thursday (May 2). First pitch for game one is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
