ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Junior Lance LeBaron (Coon Rapids, Minn.) drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the eighth inning as the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team defeated the Maryville Saints, 4-3, Friday night at Weber Baseball Field.

Junior Ryan Walling (Spring Lake, Mich.) led off the eighth inning with a single up the middle. He was one of just two Prairie Stars with multiple hits in the game. After a sacrifice bunt and a groundout moved Walling to third base, LeBaron delievered a two-out, run-scoring single to left field to give UIS a 4-3 lead.

Freshman Michael Rothmund (Lombard, Ill.) finished with two hits, a double and home run, and two runs-batted-in. He is now second on the team with four doubles this season. Batting in the cleanup spot, the freshman put UIS ahead in the first inning with a RBI-double to right center field, scoring senior Alex Bradley (Peoria, Ill.). Later in the game with the Prairie Stars leading 2-1, Rothmund drove a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left field for his first career home run.

Junior Richard England (Centerville, Iowa) made his first start for the Prairie Stars and allowed just one earned run over 4 1/3 innings. UIS pitchers allowed just four hits in the game while. Senior Kyle Schildroth pitched four innings in relief and was nearly perfect, allowing just one hit while striking out three. He is now 2-0 on the season. Junior Jose Marin (Maturin, Venezuela) closed out the game, earning his first save this year.

"Tonight felt like a true big-time Friday night conference game," said head coach Chris Ramirez. "Our pitching staff was virtually unhittable and we had some guys really step up for us on offense. We have alot of new guys figuring it out and we are starting to play the game the right way."

The Saints fought back to tie the game twice, in the first inning and in the fifth inning. With the score even at 1-1, junior Kyle Hunsinger (Joliet, Ill.) drove home a run on a fielder's choice bunt to give the visiting Prairie Stars the lead. Later in the game, after Rothmund's solo home run, Maryville came back again with two runs in fifth to tie the game, setting up LeBaron's go-ahead RBI single in the eighth.

UIS continues its series with Maryville tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.