SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) baseball team powers past Hillsdale College in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on Thursday.
"Getting our first NCAA Tournament win for the program feels great, especially coming here in our home town in front of a lot of people that support and follow our program," UIS coach
Chris Ramirez said.
Top-seeded UIS (46-7) poured in six runs during the seventh inning in its NCAA Tournament debut. The Prairie Stars are ranked No. 4 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II poll.
John Sechen went 3-for-5 with an RBI double for the Prairie Stars.
Nick Stokowski blasted a two-run homer, totaling three RBIs on the day.
Zach Speaker finished 2-for-3 with a two-run double, turning in a total of three RBIs.
Myles Hann went 2-for-4 with a solo jack and a double.
Jack Schaaf finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double.
Cole Taylor and
Michael Rothmund each provided a double.
Troy Cantu rounded UIS's 13 hits with a single.
"Our offense finally broke through with big at bats up and down the lineup. Most of our damage came either with two-strike hits or two-out RBIs. That's what winning players do."
Colin Boerst went 2-for-4 for eighth-seeded Hillsdale (26-29). Dante Toppi produced a solo homer and Steven Ring tallied a double. Dylan Lottinville added a single to round out Hillsdale's five hits.
Andrew Dean received the start. He walked five batters and gave up one hit in three scoreless innings.
"Andrew show a lot of maturity, battling to post zeros in the first three innings."
Colton Hale (8-1) picked up the win. He struck out three batters, issued four walks and allowed one run on two hits in two and two-thirds innings.
R.D. Lutze fanned a batter and issued one hit in one and one-third scoreless innings.
Nick Alvarado struck out a batter and conceded one run on one hit in one inning.
Alec Altmeyer retired each of the three batters he faced including punching out two batters.
"Our bullpen of Colton, R.D., Nick and Alec were lights out. They gave us energy in the middle innings and shut the door late."
Will Kruse (6-4) was hit with the loss. He struck out four batters, allowed a walk and surrendered nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits in six and one-third innings. Kolton Rominski gave up a walk and yielded two unearned runs on three hits in one and two-thirds innings.
Stokowski knocked in Schaaf on a groundout in the bottom of the first inning to put UIS on the board.
Hillsdale saw an opportunity to tie the game in the third. Alex Walts flew out to center with one out and the bases-loaded. As Hillsdale tried to score on a sacrifice fly, Schaaf fired a throw that nailed Jake Hoover at third just before the runner scored.
"Jack made a big-time defensive play by throwing out the runner at third trying to tag, before the runner scored from third."
Schaaf connected for an RBI single in the fifth.
Colin Hites drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth to put Hillsdale within a run.
Speaker drove in Stokowski on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The Prairie Stars plated six runs in the seventh. Hann cranked a solo homer. Taylor delivered an RBI single. Rothmund then drove in Schaaf on a fielder's choice. Sechen provided an RBI double and Speaker smacked a two-run double. UIS lead 9-1 after seven innings.
Toppi ripped a solo homer in the eighth.
In the bottom half of the inning, Stokowski crushed a two-run homer to center.
UIS clashes with fifth-seeded Quincy University (40-16) in the Second Round on Friday at 5 p.m. at Robin Roberts Stadium. Quincy is ranked No. 23 nationally.
"Quincy is talented and dangerous like we are. It should be a fun game to watch."
