QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University baseball team was unable to hold early momentum on Saturday as Missouri-St. Louis used late-inning surges in both contests to sweep the doubleheader. The Hawks fell 5–3 in game two before dropping game three 7–3, snapping an eight-game home winning streak and moving Quincy to 18-9 overall.
Game 2: Missouri-St. Louis 5, Quincy 3
Missouri-St. Louis threatened early in the first inning, but Quincy starter
Rocco Conrad worked around the traffic to keep the game scoreless. The Hawks then struck first in the second inning.
Isaiah Fudge singled to lead off the frame before
David Broughton was hit by a pitch.
Harry Fandre delivered an RBI single, and later
Ben Dahlof added a sacrifice fly to give Quincy a 2–0 lead.
The Tritons responded in the third inning with a decisive sequence. A runner came home on a balk before a two-run single later in the inning gave Missouri-St. Louis a 3–2 advantage.
Quincy was unable to respond offensively over the next several innings as the Tritons pitching staff settled in. Conrad exited in the fourth inning, marking his shortest outing of the season, and the Hawks turned to the bullpen.
Logan Mueller was strong in relief, tossing 3.1 innings while allowing just two runs, only one earned, to keep Quincy within striking distance.
Missouri-St. Louis added two insurance runs in the seventh inning, taking advantage of a hit and a pair of Quincy errors to extend the lead to 5–2.
The Hawks made a late push in the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff walk set the tone before Dahlof delivered a single to put runners in scoring position.
Jace Figuereo followed with a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 5–3, but Quincy was unable to complete the comeback.
Quincy finished with six hits, with Fudge extending his hitting streak to 19 games while recording his eighth straight multi-hit game. Dahlof also added a hit to extend his streak to seven games.
Game 3: Missouri-St. Louis 7, Quincy 3
Quincy once again jumped out early in game two.
Carson Moreno and
Ari Fivelson each recorded hits to start the second inning before
David Broughton delivered a two-run double.
Patrick Mendiola followed with an RBI single to give the Hawks a 3–0 lead.
Missouri-St. Louis chipped away in the fourth inning with an RBI single to make it 3–1, but Quincy maintained control behind a strong start from
Kade Ruffner, who worked five innings while allowing just one run.
The momentum shifted in the sixth inning. After a leadoff baserunner reached, the Tritons delivered a two-run home run to tie the game at 3–3. Later in the inning, an RBI double gave Missouri-St. Louis its first lead at 4–3.
Missouri-St. Louis added to its lead in the seventh inning with another two-run home run, and a defensive miscue allowed an additional run to score, stretching the lead to 7–3.
Quincy was unable to answer in the bottom half, as the Tritons closed out the win to complete the sweep. The Hawks totaled six hits in the game, with
Joe Huffman leading the way with two. The loss also saw a pair of notable streaks come to an end, as Fudge's 19-game hitting streak and Dahlof's seven-game hitting streak were both snapped.
Quincy will return to QU Stadium on Sunday for the series finale against Missouri-St. Louis, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM, as the Hawks look to even the series.
