QUINCY, Ill. – Quincy welcomed the Panthers for a doubleheader on Saturday (Mar. 29) for the second straight day. The two teams split once again, with the Panthers rallying for an 8-7 game one victory, and the Hawks offense stayed hot to take game two, 11-8. 

GAME ONE

The Panthers struck first in game one, scoring with a two-out single in the first inning to drive in the game's first run. In the home half of the second, Harry Fandre got his monster game one started with a solo home run to left field to even things up at one after two innings of play.

Drury regained the lead in the third inning with a sacrifice fly to center field. But for the second time in the game, Fandre answered the Panthers with another big fly in the fourth inning to tie up the game once again in the fourth inning.

Moving into the fifth inning, the Hawks found themselves with their first lead of the game, after Matt Mateo continued to stay hot by driving in a run with a single down the right-field line. Quincy continued to build on their lead in the fifth inning. Fandre smoked his third solo home run of the game, doubling the lead to make it 4-2. Two batters later, Isaiah Fudge hit his third home run of the season, and the Hawks's fourth of the game.

Two more runs came into score via back-to-back wild pitches, and the Hawks had a 7-2 lead heading into the final frame. Hawks starter Kyle Manship was still on the mound looking for the complete game through seven innings. Manship recorded the first out of the inning but was chased from the game after loading the bases with a walk and two singles. 

The Panthers were looking to rally in the final inning just like they did in game one on Friday, and that is exactly what they would do. A double down the left field line with two outs brought in a pair of runs to make it 7-4. One batter later, an infield single brought in another run, and a six-run top of the seventh was capped off with a go-ahead three-run home run over the left field wall. 

With the Hawks trailing 8-7, they needed at least a run to move the game into extra innings, but the Drury reliever sat the Hawks down 1-2-3 to earn a win for the Panthers in game one. 

GAME TWO

Game two started the same way it did on Friday for the Hawks, with a crooked number in the first inning. Three run blasts from David Broughton and JD Ortiz gave QU a 6-0 lead after one inning. The lead extended to seven in the second inning after Broughton drove in his fourth RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly.

An eighth run crossed the plate as Mateo's fourth home run of the series extended the Quincy lead in the fourth inning. Hawks starter Kade Ruffner held the Panther offense in check through five innings of play. Ruffner finished five scoreless innings with 108 pitches, five hits, four walks, and five strikeouts.

It took the Panthers five innings, but they were able to find the run column with a two-run homer from their second baseman. However, Quincy matched the two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Broughton drove in RBI number five for the game with another sacrifice fly. In that same play, a second run came to the plate courtesy of a Panther throwing error. 

Drury continued to prove in the late innings that they would not go away. A grand slam from the Panther's backstop cut the lead in half in the top of the seventh inning. In the home half, Joe Huffman hit the Hawks's fourth home run of the game with a solo big fly to left field.

In the eighth inning, trailing by five runs, the Panthers continued to put pressure on the Hawks's pitching and defense, loading up the bases with only one out. But the Hawks submarine arm, David Kelliher, came in and only surrendered one run via a groundout, and sent the Hawks to the home half with a four-run lead.

After a quiet inning from the Hawks offensively, Kelliher trotted out for the ninth, looking to close the door and take game four of the series. The first two Panthers were put down quickly, but the DU second baseman hit his second round-tripper of the game to make it 11-8. A single extended the game for the Panthers, but a flyout to left field put a close to game two, as Quincy walked away with a split against Drury for the second consecutive day.

The Hawks offense continued to stay hot, scoring 18 runs on 17 hits through the two games. 11 of the 17 hits went for extra bases, which included eight home runs and three doubles. Ben Dahlof's hit streak now sits at 12 games after going 2-4 in game one and 1-2 in game two. With RBIs in both games, Matteo now has driven in a run in six straight games, leading the team with 34 RBIs on the season. Ruffner now moves to 2-2 after throwing five scoreless innings, the second time this season he has thrown five or more runs and not given up an earned run.

After the split series, Quincy now moves to 13-17 on the season and 6-6 in the GLVC, which is tied for seventh. For the Panthers, they move to 18-13 overall and 8-4 in the GLVC, putting them in third place.

The Hawks will stay at home as they will greet the Greyhounds of the University of Indianapolis for a four-game series. Game one will be on Friday (Apr. 4), with the first pitch scheduled to be tossed at 3:00 PM CDT.