LEBANON, IL --- The Prairie Stars (14-9, 4-0) completed a four-game sweep of Great Lakes Valley Conference rival McKendree (8-14, 0-4) winning by scores of 6-4 and 9-3 to conclude the series. After scoring 37 runs in two games on Friday afternoon, the Prairie Stars plated 15 more on Sunday, as they outscored the Bearcats 52-18 on the weekend.

GAME ONE: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 6, MCKENDREE 4
In the lowest scoring game of the series, the Prairie Stars did what they had done in the first two games, and scored in the first inning. UIS plated three runs in the top of the first, the first on an RBI single from Trey Hannam and the next two on a two-run single from Myles Hann.

An RBI double from Hannam in the second put UIS 4-0 before McKendree managed their first runs in the bottom of the third.

Up 4-2, Hannam hit a solo home run in the fourth and then doubled up with his second home run of the day in the seventh, giving UIS a 6-2 lead. This was Hannam's second career two-homerun day, the other coming against Saint Joseph's on May 1^st of last season.

The Bearcats managed two runs off starter Brayden Jensen (3-0) in five innings of work, then got two more off Sam Geraci in relief. R.D. Lutze picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless seventh inning, giving UIS the 6-4 victory.

Hannam had a career day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with four runs batted in and three runs scored. Cole Taylor scored both times he reached base while Kenny Hansen picked up two hits as the designated hitter.

GAME TWO: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 9, MCKENDREE 3
In the final game of the series, UIS failed to score in the first inning for the first time all series and found themselves down 1-0 after two innings. That changed quickly though, as Austin Muench drove in Taylor with an RBI double to tie the game. After Myles Hann drew a walk to load the bases, Hansen unloaded a grand slam to left center, his second homerun of the series --- and second grand slam for UIS.

Leading 5-2 in the fifth, Rothmund connected for his 13^th homerun of the season --- which gives him the outright lead in the GLVC. Taylor followed suit in the seventh with a solo blast of his own, which started a three run inning for UIS as Muench and Hann each drove in a run as well.

All the offense gave starter, Adam Gregory (5-1) plenty of room to work with, as the southpaw went 7.1 innings, giving up just three runs (two earned) on eight hits and striking out two. Austin Kapusinski closed the eight, retiring the only two batters he saw before Chase Lowman worked a scoreless ninth to close the series.

UIS is now 13-3 against McKendree since 2014 and marks the second season sweep of the Bearcats, the other coming in 2015, although two of those games were played in Springfield. Cole Taylor now leads the GLVC in runs (32) and hits (39) while Michael Rothmund leads the league in runs batted in (36) and home runs (13). Ethan Howard sits second in the conference in ERA (2.43) while Adam Gregory is tied for the lead in wins (5).

On the weekend, UIS hit .356 as a team, collecting 13 doubles, one triple, and 11 home runs. UIS had an on-base percentage of .439 and slugging percentage of .678 over the four games. Hannam and Rothmund each had three home runs each, while Hansen had two, including a grand slam. Hann finished the week 9-for-17 with six runs, 13 RBI, three doubles, and a home run --- which was also a grand slam.

UIS will not play a midweek game this week as they prepare for a four-game home series with Southern Indiana on Saturday and Sunday. First-pitch will be at 12:00 pm on both days.