SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team dropped a pair of close games to the Lewis Flyers on Saturday, 2-5 and 4-5, at the UIS Baseball Field.

After falling to the Flyers 2-5 in game one, the Prairie Stars nearly earned a split but their rally fell short in the 11th inning.

Junior Christopher Irwin (Hiram, Ga.) got the start in game one, his first outing in nearly two weeks. Irwin pitched six innings and gave up four runs while striking out three. Junior Chance Simpson (Lewistown, Ill.) pitched three innings in relief.

The visiting Flyers got on the board in game one with three runs in the top of the first. Lewis used three hits and a walk to take the lead. UIS jumped back into the game in the third inning.

With one out, junior Todd Phelps (Detroit, Mich.) reached base after an error by the second baseman. A single and a walk loaded the bases with junior Aaron Kuper (Highland, Ill.) at the dish. Kuper delivered a two-run single through the left side to make the score 3-2. The Prairie Stars stranded runners on the corners in the inning.

UIS put runners on base in the fifth and eighth innings but inning-ending double plays in both frames kept the Prairie Stars from cutting into the Lewis lead.

The Flyers added insurance runs in the sixth and ninth innings to eventually win game one of the series, 5-2.

In the second half of the doubleheader, junior Jose Marin (Maturin, Venezuela) tossed 5.2 innings and allowed just one earned run while striking out nine.

Lewis owned a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and a runner on third, junior Adam Warda (Skokie, Ill.) hit an infield single  to tie the game, 2-2. The very next batter, junior Gabriel Acevedo (Portage, Ind.), drove a ball deep to left field that the Lewis fielder misplayed, allowing Warda to score. Junior Mark Self (Algonquin, Ill.) then stepped into the box and roped a single to left field to give UIS a 4-2 lead.

The Prairie Stars held a 4-2 advantage into the final inning. Back-to-back walks to lead off the inning gave the Flyers runners on first and second with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, shortstop Mike Barajas singled to center field to make the score 4-3. A groundout in the next at-bat tied the game at four-a-piece.

UIS nearly ended the game in the bottom of the tenth. A pair of singles put runners on the corners with one out. The Prairie Stars couldn't find a way to get the runner home as the next two batters were retired.

In the top of the 11th, the Flyers took the lead with a leadoff home run by the catcher Cale Robinson. Junior Richard England (Centerville, Iowa) limited the damage by pitching out of a two-on, one-out jam.

In the bottom half of the frame, the Prairie Stars put the tying run on third with just one out but couldn't bring the runner home.

UIS wraps up the series on Sunday with a doubleheader at 12 p.m.