CARTERSVILLE, GA --- The Prairie Stars (7-3) won their final three games in a four-game swing in Georgia, beating Wayne State in their final two games by scores of 6-4 and 7-3. Behind timely hitting and great pitching performances, the Prairie Stars have now won seven of their last eight games, all away from home.

ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 6, WAYNE STATE 4
In the night cap on Saturday, UIS squared off against Wayne State for the second time on the weekend after falling 5-2 in the first game of the weekend. After shutting out Missouri – St. Louis 11-0 earlier in the day, UIS got the bats going early, scoring a run in the top of the first on an RBI ground out from Michael Rothmund.

After going down 2-1, UIS came back with a run in the bottom of the second, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Chris Mathieu.

Trailing 3-2 after four, UIS again came back, scoring three times in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. Myles Hann delivered a two RBI double before John Sechen tripled to right, scoring Hann.

A run in the eighth for Wayne State cut the UIS lead to 5-4 but Trey Hannam got the run back in the bottom half with a single to left field, scoring Drew Harper.

Adam Gregory (2-1) got the win on the mound, throwing seven strong innings, surrendering just three runs on eight hits while striking out four. Cameron Zunkel got his first save of the year by throwing two innings, giving up just one run and striking out two to close out the victory.

ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 7, WAYNE STATE 3
In the final game of the weekend, UIS again got on the board first, scoring a run in the top of the second on a sacrifice fly from Kenny Hansen. Wayne State tied the game in the bottom half but UIS retaliated with four consecutive runs over the next seven innings.

Austin Muench singled to center in the third, scoring Hannam and Mathieu before Ben Schanding scored in the fourth, courtesy of a wild pitch. Muench drove in another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly and then Rothmund delivered the final blow, hitting a two-run blast to left, making the score 7-1.

Wayne State plated two unearned runs in the ninth inning but never got the tying run to the plate.

Brayden Jensen picked up his first win of the season in his second start, throwing eight innings and giving up just one run with seven strikeouts. Jensen turned the ball over to Zunkel for the ninth, who closed out the game, striking out two.

UIS has now won seven of their last eight, which ties a program best mark over an eight game stretch, last accomplished in 2014.

PRAIRIE STAR NOTES: Austin Muench recorded eight hits on the weekend, hitting for a .615 average … Michael Rothmund hit three homeruns and drove in eight runs … Rothmund now has six homeruns on the season and eight of his nine hits are for extra bases … UIS hit .315 as a team on the weekend and had 11 extra base hits … The pitching staff surrendered just 12 runs (ten earned) over four games … UIS pitchers held 3/1 strikeout to walk ratio … The defense committed just two errors across four games, coming on the same play.