SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team dropped the opening game of its four-game series with Southern Indiana, 7-1, Friday afternoon at the UIS Baseball Field.

The Prairie Stars are now 16-17 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with just three games remaining in the regular season.

Southern Indiana outhit the Prairie Stars 16-4 on the afternoon. The visitors got on the board in the top of the first when designated hitter Drake McNamara hit a run-scoring single to right center field.

The Prairie Stars answered in the bottom half of the frame. After a leadoff walk, junior Adam Warda (Skokie, Ill.) came around to score after an error and a groundout. 

Junior Max Biedrzycki (Bolingbrook, Ill.) made his tenth start of the season for UIS. He struck out six batters over 3.2 innings. He ran into trouble in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corners and two outs, the Screaming Eagles connected on four consecutive singles to make the score 5-1. A double to center field capped off the scoring and gave the visitors a 7-1 advantage.

The Prairie Stars struggled to get runners in scoring position over the course of the game. In the ninth inning, UIS loaded the bases with just one out, but a double play ended the game to give Southern Indiana a 7-1 victory.

Freshman Michael Rothmund (Lombard, Ill.) led the Prairie Stars offensively with a pair of hits and a walk. 

The series continues tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.