NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Rockhurst scored three runs in the top of the 15th inning to defeat the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team, 5-2, on a frigid Friday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.

Pitching ruled the day as both teams' staffs combined to throw 30 innings and gave up only 18 hits and seven runs while striking out 31.

Junior Christopher Irwin (Hiram, Ga.) got the nod for the Prairie Stars and didn't disappoint in his debut for UIS, pitching seven strong innings and allowing just two runs. He struck out eight batters in the game, including a stretch of five straight strikeouts.

Richard England (Centerville, Iowa) was effective in 3 2/3 innings of work. The junior-transfer faced 14 batters and didn't allow a hit.

The Prairie Stars took the lead in the second frame after senior Alex Bradley (Peoria, Ill.) and junior Jake Redlinger (Washington, Iowa) got on base via the walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively. A groundout moved the runners to second and third with junior Mark Self (Algonquin, Ill.) at the plate. An error by the pitcher allowed Self to reach first and brought both Bradley and Redlinger around to score.

Rockhurst got a run back in the third and then tied the game in the seventh. The Hawk's Alex Merithew tossed eight innings in relief, allowing just two hits while striking out six.

Both teams struggled to put runners on base in the late stages of the game. Neither squad was able to get a runner to third from the ninth inning through the 13th inning.
In the top of the 14th, the Hawks loaded the bases with just one out. Junior pitcher Jose Marin (Maturin, Venezuela) forced a lazy groundout and then struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the score even.

Marin nearly got out of another bases-loaded jam in the 15th frame, but with two out Rockhurst catcher Jake Jones doubled down the right field line to plate a pair of runs. The Hawks added another run to make the score 5-2.

In the bottom half of the inning, back-to-back one-out singles from sophomore Jon Schram (Bloomingdale, Ill.) and Aaron Kuper (Highland, Ill.) gave the Prairie Stars two on with one out, but UIS couldn't find a way to bring them around as the Hawks captured the 5-2 win.

Marin was tagged with the loss. Junior Gabriel Acevedo (Portage, Wis.) went 3-for-6 on the day with a pair of doubles.

UIS is back in action tomorrow for a 1 p.m. game against Tiffin before playing Rockhurst at 4 p.m.