SPRINGFIELD, IL --- With the wind blowing out to left field all day, it was predicted the offenses would have a good day, but it was Illinois Springfield (17-12, 7-3) who took advantage, scoring 13 runs in each game to sweep Lewis (6-22, 2-8) by scores of 13-9 and 13-12. UIS tallied 34 hits on the day and added 12 more walks and five hit by pitches for an incredible .580 on-base percentage. Illinois Springfield had six innings in which they scored two or more runs.

GAME ONE: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 13, LEWIS 9
A run in the first for the Flyers put the Prairie Stars in an early hole but Cole Taylor wasted no time changing that, taking the first pitch he saw out to left for his 10^th homerun of the season to tie the game. Lewis came back with one in the top of the second but in the bottom half, Drew Harper connected for his second homerun of the season, this one a grand slam to put UIS up 5-2.

Lewis scored again in the third and fourth, tying the game at five on a two-run homer. Austin Muench came back with his first blast of the season, taking back the lead 6-5. A sacrifice fly from Ben Schanding pushed the lead to 7-5 through four.

A four-run fifth inning gave UIS an 11-5 lead and was highlighted by an RBI double from Muench and RBI single from Myles Hann. Taylor added another double in the sixth to score Chris Mathieu to give UIS a 12-5 lead.

Two runs in the seventh put Lewis in a 12-7 hole but another run for UIS in the seventh gave the Prairie Stars a five run advantage. A two-run blast in the eighth gave Lewis hope but UIS shut the door, taking game one 13-9.

Ethan Howard (5-2) picked up the win, throwing six complete innings and giving up five runs (four earned) on ten hits. Gunnar Kay, Chase Lowman, and Austin Kapusinki closed out the final three innings for UIS as Kapusinski closed out the game with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two.

Taylor, Trey Hannam, and Schanding each had three hits on the game while Harper drove in four runs and Taylor and Muench two each. Mathieu scored three runs in the eight spot.

GAME TWO: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 13, LEWIS 12
In the second game, Cameron Zunkel tossed a shutout first inning for the Stars and gave way to the offense, who plated seven runs in the inning. The first six batters for UIS reached base safely, which included back-to-back homeruns from Michael Rothmund and Trey Hannam. UIS recorded eight hits in the inning, four of which went for extra bases. Muench lead off the game with a single then later picked up an RBI double.

After going up 7-0, Zunkel tossed a 1-2-3 second inning but hit tough times in the third. Lewis erased the seven run deficit and plated eight runs in the third inning to take their first lead since early in game one. The inning included eight hits and one UIS error.

True to form, UIS came right back in the bottom half, scoring three runs to take a 10-8 lead. After a walk to Harper and single from John Sechen, Muench connected for his second home run of the day --- and season --- for a three-run blast.

Taylor picked up an RBI on a double in the fifth to push the score to 11-8 but a run for Lewis in the sixth cut the deficit to 11-9.

Down just two in the bottom of the sixth, Lewis was on the verge of holding UIS scoreless, but a two-out error allowed two runs to score and push the score to 13-9.

Now down four with three outs to go, Lewis rallied, loading the bases with nobody out before pushing two runs across and putting the tying run aboard with no outs. A groundout put runners at second and third before a strikeout gave UIS the second out. A questionable call on ball four allowed a run to cross as confusion ensued between UIS and the umpires, but UIS induced a game-ending popup to secure the victory.

Zunkel ended up tossing 2.2 innings and giving up eight runs while R.D. Lutze picked up the win (2-0), throwing 3.1 innings in relief, giving up just one run on five hits. Sam Geraci closed out the game in the seventh.

???????Muench, Taylor, and Hann each had three hits in the second game while Muench drove in four runs and scored three more.

On the day, Muench went 5-for-9 with two doubles, two home runs, four runs and six RBI. Taylor had six hits – three doubles and a home run --- and scored three runs while Hann went a cool 5-for-7 at the plate with two walks.

UIS and Lewis will conclude their series tomorrow with a seven inning game at 12 PM before ending the series with a nine inning game to follow.