(SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 25)—The McKendree University baseball team opened its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule on Friday with a doubleheader split at the University of Illinois Springfield. The Bearcats rolled to an 8-0 win in the opener before the Prairie Stars bounced back with a 7-0 triumph in game two.
 
McKendree stretched its season-high win streak to five games thanks to its game one victory. The Bearcats move to 9-12 on the year and will face UIS again in another conference twinbill Saturday at noon.
 
Junior right-handers Ryan Cates (Anderson, IN/Yorktown) and Terry Deaville (Rantoul, IL/Rantoul) combined to toss a six-hit shutout in the opener for McKendree. Cates worked the first eight innings to collect his third win of the season. He allowed all six hits by the Prairie Stars and struck out a season-high nine batters in the effort. Deaville pitched the ninth inning for the Bearcats, walking one and fanning one.
 
Friday's game one triumph marked the first shutout win for the McKendree baseball team since the Bearcats defeated Saint Joseph's College 1-0 back on April 18, 2015 in the first game of a doubleheader at Hypes Field. It was McKendree's first road shutout win since March 8, 2015, when the Bearcats grabbed a 1-0 win at Missouri S&T.
 
In the opener, McKendree jumped out to a quick lead thanks to a three-run outburst in the top of the first inning. Freshman infielder Luke Johnson (Barrington, IL/Barrington) led off the contest with a single, and two batters later junior first baseman Keith Rogers (Marshall, IL/Marshall) drilled the second pitch of his at-bat over the right-center field fences for a two-run home run. Junior first baseman Matt Walsh (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton Warrenville South) followed with a single, and he came around to score thanks to a two-out, RBI infield single off the bat of junior catcher Chris Deaville (Rantoul, IL/Rantoul).
 
The 3-0 lead stood until the top of the sixth inning when the Bearcats plated three more runs to double their advantage to 6-0. Senior catcher Connor Davault (Farmington, MO/Farmington) led off with a walk and scored when junior outfielder Grant Anderson (Mackinaw, IL/Deer Creek-Mackinaw) ripped the next pitch out of the park for a two-run home run. Three batters later, senior infielder Adam Kunkel (Red Bud, IL/Red Bud) reached on an infield single, stole second base and scored as Johnson delivered an RBI single to left field to give McKendree its six-run advantage.
 
McKendree iced the game one victory with two more runs in the top of the eighth inning. Junior outfielder Colton Calhoun (Mt. Zion, IL/Mt. Zion) worked a walk and Kunkel was hit by a pitch before another free pass to Johnson loaded the bases with one out. Junior infielder Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) stepped in next and produced a two-run single to plate Calhoun and Kunkel with the final runs of game one.  
 
Illinois Springfield (7-9, 1-1 GLVC) turned the tables on McKendree in the nightcap as senior right-hander Chance Simpson tossed a complete-game three-hitter against the Bearcats. Sophomore outfielder Brad Groleau (Peru, IL/St. Bede Academy) recorded the Bearcats' lone extra-base hit in game two with a fourth-inning double. Simpson did not walk a batter and struck out nine.
 
The Prairie Stars broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the bottom of the second inning. UIS then tacked on three more runs in the third inning and two in the fourth before scratching out another tally in the sixth inning.