LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University baseball (14-21, 7-13 GLVC) fell in its final true home series of the season to the Prairie Stars via sweep but regained its offense in a mid-week victory over Harris-Stowe on Tuesday afternoon. The Bearcats prep to take on Quincy in Quincy, Illinois on April 14-16 in a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series before heading off to Missouri S&T and Truman to conclude the regular season. McKendree sits 10th in the GLVC following the UIS series.
vs Illinois Springfield
Game 1 | April 6
The Bearcats struck quickly in the series opener against the 20th-ranked Stars, going up 5-1 by the fifth inning. The scoring was started by infielder
Austin Francis in the second, who bombed a ball to left, scoring catcher
Kyle Czarnecki in the process. In the fifth, outfielder
Katom Parnell added a second two-run shot, scoring fellow outfielder
Chyran Cruse. The Parnell shot was followed up by a third homer by infielder
Noah Nelson, making it a five-run game.
UIS went on a six-run tear in the sixth, taking a 7-5 lead but McKendree fought back in the bottom half, making it an 8-7 lead. The runs came from a double by Parnell, who scored Cruse and utility player
Joey Kossina.
The Stars scored three in the eighth and two in the ninth to take the game, 12-8. Kossina went six innings on the mound, striking out four and allowing four runs.
Jameson Strozier took the loss in the game.
Game 2 | April 7 (DH Game 1)
In the first seven-inning game of the double-header, the Bearcats struggled to get runners on base, scoring just two runs on four total hits.
UIS scored immediately to begin things with three in the first inning and never looked back on its lead. The Stars took the game, 10-2.
Parnell, Czarnecki, Francis, and outfielder
Brandon Roth all recorded a hit in the game.
Game 3 | April 7 (DH Game 2)
McKendree again found some struggles in getting on base in game three, recording just four hits to score one. The Prairie Stars fired off nine runs between the second and fourth innings before tacking on four in the sixth. UIS won 13-1.
Infielder
Brody Macak, Kossina, Parnell, and Francis recorded knocks in the game. Parnell dropped a deep double while Francis hit a solor shot.
Game 4 | April 8
McKendree looked to swipe a game in the series during the Sunday finale but stumbled in scoring opportunities. The Bearcats knocked seven hits in the 6-0 loss to No.20 UIS.
Parnell and Roth both added a pair of hits in the effort while Czarnecki, Francis, and Cruse each added one.
vs. Harris-Stowe
The Bearcats looked to get back on track with a mid-week contest against the Hornets and did just that with a 12-7 victory.
After an early snare, McKendree jumperd into the lead in the sixth, scoring nine runs. It started with a Francis grand slam, which drove home Czarnecki, Roth, and Parnell to make it a 5-4 game. Kossina doubled to drive in the next runs with Cruse and catcher
Kaid Muth making it around to home. Nelson capped-off the inning with a three-run shot, allowing Kossina and Parnell to score. McKendree led 9-5 after the sixth inning.
Czarnecki continued the fun in the seventh with a solo homer to left, which made the Bearcats lead grow, 10-5. Harris-Stowe took one back in the top of the eighth but McKendree added two more in the bottom end of that inning as Roth tripled, bringing in Nelson and then Czarnecki singled, scoring Roth.
McKendree stopped its four-game skid with the win.
Nate Arnold got the win on the mound, throwing two innings with a strikeout.
UP NEXT
McKendree baseball will take on the ninth-ranked Hawks of Quincy in another #GLVCbase series on April 14-16 in Quincy, Illinois.
Weekend Schedule at Quincy | Quincy, Ill. - QU Stadium
Game 1 - Friday, April 14 | 3 PM | 9 Innings
Game 2 - Friday, April 14 | 6 PM | 7 Innings
Game 3 - TBD (Saturday)
Game 4 - TBD (Sunday)
