KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Quincy took the final game of the series against Rockhurst on Sunday afternoon (Mar. 23), taking down RU with a final score of 8-6.

QU wasted zero time finding the run column by putting up two runs in the first inning. Ben Dahlof scored on a passed ball, and David Broughton brought in the second run with an RBI double to right field. RU had an answer off the Hawks starter Tom Conzemius, scoring two runs of their own in the home half with an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk. 

Quincy regained their two-run lead after scoring a pair in the second inning. Matt Matteo drove in his 24th run of the season with a groundout. One batter later, Dahlof drove in a run with a single to right center field.

Conzemius settled in after the first inning, tossing three scoreless frames. He worked around four hits and five walks but managed to strike out six and limit the RU offense from scoring runs. Josh Hempelman was the first man out of the bullpen for QU, and the Hawks of Rockhurst scored a pair of runs in the fifth to tie up the game. An RBI single and a run scoring on an error knotted the game up at four after five innings of action.

An RBI single from John Nisbet in the sixth inning regained the lead for the Quincy. In the following inning, QU added on three more runs to take an 8-4 lead. Broughton drove in his second RBI of the game with a groundout. Quinn Schultz recorded his first career extra-base hit in a Hawk uniform, bringing Broughton all the way around to score with a triple to center field. Cole Erickson capped off a three-run inning with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Rockhurst chipped into the Quincy lead with a solo homer in the seventh and a run-scoring single in the eighth to make it 8-6. With RU down to their final three outs, the QU pitching staff did not make things easy on themselves, loading the bases with three hit-by-pitches. Coach Matt Schissel had to go to the bullpen, needing two outs. Seth West answered the call for the first time this season, entering with a two-run lead and the bases loaded. West slammed the door, punching out back-to-back batters to earn his first career save in a QU uniform. 

Quincy rattled off 11 hits, with four different players having multi-hit games. The pitching staff was able to work around ten hits and 14 free passes, forcing Rockhurst to leave 18 runners on base. Hempelman earned his first win of the season and the third of his career.

Quincy will travel back home to continue GLVC play with a four-game series against the Panthers of Drury University. The Panthers will come into play with a 16-11 overall record, second in the GLVC with a 6-2 record, and are currently on a five-game win streak. Game one will take play on Friday (Mar. 28), with the first pitch expected to be around 3:00 PM.