SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Quincy University baseball team dropped a tightly contested pitchers' duel to No. 24 Illinois Springfield on Friday afternoon, falling 3–2 in the opening game of the series. Despite recording 10 hits, the Hawks were unable to come up with the timely hit late as UIS held on for the win.
Illinois Springfield struck first in the opening inning when Tommy Atkinson launched a solo home run, his eighth of the season, which ranks among the top five in the GLVC, to give the Prairie Stars a 1–0 lead. Quincy threatened in the second after
Isaiah Fudge singled and stole second, but the Hawks were unable to bring him home.
UIS added another run in the third inning after a leadoff double and a sacrifice fly pushed the advantage to 2–0. Quincy answered in the fourth inning.
Payton Mansfield was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position after a single from
Harry Fandre. With two outs,
Patrick Mendiola delivered an RBI single to center field, cutting the deficit to 2–1.
Both pitching staffs settled in over the middle innings. Quincy starter
Roman Harrison was strong despite taking the loss, tossing seven innings while allowing just three runs on five hits and striking out seven. Harrison retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced before exiting after the seventh inning.
Illinois Springfield added a crucial insurance run in the seventh inning when Johnny Wendling connected on a solo home run to push the lead to 3–1. Quincy made one final push in the eighth.
Jace Figuereo and
Joe Huffman each singled before Mansfield delivered an RBI single to bring the Hawks within one at 3–2. Quincy had the tying and go-ahead runs on base, but the Prairie Stars escaped the inning without further damage.
The Hawks threatened again in the ninth when Mendiola recorded his third hit of the game.
Jack Haggard pinch ran for him and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Quincy was unable to bring him home as Illinois Springfield closed out the victory.
Quincy finished with 10 hits in the contest, but the two runs marked the fewest the Hawks have scored this season when recording double-digit hits. It was just the third loss this season when Quincy has posted at least 10 hits, as the Hawks now sit at 13-3 in those games.
Figuereo posted his second straight multi-hit game and his 14th multi-hit performance of the season, while Mendiola recorded his third three-hit game of the year and raised his batting average to .320. Mansfield added an RBI single, while Fudge and Fandre also contributed hits.
A big part of the story was the Illinois Springfield pitching staff. Starter Ben Benoit moved to 6-0 on the season after tossing six innings, allowing just one run on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Isaac Graf followed with a three-inning save, surrendering one run while lowering his ERA to 0.57 despite allowing his first earned run of the season. The Prairie Stars staff allowed just one walk and one hit by pitch all afternoon.
The Hawks will be back in action on Saturday for a doubleheader against Illinois Springfield, with first pitch scheduled for noon.
