NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team picked up its first wins of the season on Saturday, defeating Tiffin, 2-0, before turning around and topping Rockhurst, 8-5, at ES Rose Park.

A pair of pitchers earned wins in their UIS debuts. Junior Matt Farrington (Orland Park, Ill.) tossed 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball in game one against Tiffin, allowing just two hits while striking out eight.

In the nightcap, junior Gavin Collins (Camp Verde, Ariz.) got the start and pitched five strong innings, allowing one earned run with four strikeouts.

In game one, both teams cruised through two innings until UIS struck in the bottom of the third. With two outs, shortstop Kyle Hunsinger (Joliet, Ill.) reached base on a bunt-single. After he stole second base, junior Adam Warda (Skokie, Ill.) doubled down the left field line to bring him home.

Warda went 4-for-9 on the day with two hits in each game.

One run was all UIS needed as Farrington cruised through the Tiffin lineup. Tiffin was unable to advance a runner past second base in the game.

The Prairie Stars tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning when junior Gabriel Acevedo launched a two-out triple, plating Warda.

Senior Kyle Schildroth (Aviston, Ill.) picked up a four-out save, his first of the season.

In the second game, the Prairie Stars struck in the top of the first inning to make the score 1-0. Adam Warda was able to score on an errant throw from the second baseman as he was trying to keep Warda from tagging up.

The Hawks responded in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs. Shortstop Brett Marr hit an RBI single through the right side to tie the game. An error later in the inning allowed the Hawks to take a 2-1 lead.

The score remained 2-1 until the fourth inning. A sacrifice bunt from Aaron Kuper (Highland, Ill.) gave UIS runners on second and third with just one out after a leadoff walk and base hit. Center fielder Jake Redlinger delivered a triple over the right fielder's head, scoring both runners. He scored later in the inning on an RBI-groundout from junior Todd Phelps (Detroit, Mich.) to make the score 4-2.

Rockhurst answered again in the bottom half of the frame, capitalizing on two UIS errors to cut the UIS lead to one, 4-3.

The Prairie Stars offense continued to deliver in the late innings as they scored runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames. In the eighth inning with runners on second and third, the Prairie Star pushed across another run with a squeeze play. A sacrifice fly from Redlinger later in the inning added to the UIS lead.

Freshman Jon Laird (Amherst, Ohio) made his UIS debut in relief on Saturday. In four innings, he allowed two runs while striking out seven for his first save of the season.

The Hawks threatened in the bottom of the ninth with the score 8-4 in favor of the Prairie Stars. After scoring one run to cut the lead to three, Laird pitched out of a bases loaded jam to secure the win.

UIS is back in action tomorrow for games against Tiffin at 12 p.m. and Rockhurst at 3 p.m.