SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) baseball team fought past Quincy University in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on Friday.
 
Top-seeded UIS (47-7) picked up an 11-7 victory against fifth-seeded Quincy (40-17) in the Second Round of the regional. UIS is ranked No. 4 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II poll while Quincy is ranked No. 23 nationally.
 
"That game felt like a World Series game," UIS coach Chris Ramirez said. "It was two heavy-weight programs throwing punches back and forth."
 
Michael Rothmund crushed a pair of two-run home runs for the Prairie Stars. The senior from Lombard, IL went 2-for-3 with two walks, four RBIs and four runs.
 
"Michael has two big blows at the plate, leading the way for us offensively."
 
Ben Schanding finished 3-for-3.  Nick Stokowski and Jack Schaaf both went 2-for-6. Schaaf and Zach Speaker each belted a two-run double. Stokowski turned in a double. Cole Taylor, Myles Hann and Drew Harper rounded out UIS's 14 hits with singles. Hann also turned in two RBIs.
 
"Everybody in our lineup had an impact."
 
Brynn Martinez hit a leadoff homer for Quincy, going 3-for-5 at the plate. Troy Wehde went 2-for-4 while Michael Nielsen finished 2-for-5 with an RBI double. Matt Hilmes ripped a three-run double. J.C. DeMuri and T.J. Tamaccio also produced singles. Quincy tallied 10 hits.
 
Justin Revels (8-1) captured the win. He struck out five batters, issued two walks and conceded six runs on eight hits in five innings.
 
"Justin is one of the most competitive players I've ever coached and he showed that [on Friday]."
 
R.D. Lutze punched out three batters, gave up a walk and allowed one run on two hits in two innings. Nick Alvarado fanned two batters and issued a walk in one scoreless inning. Cameron Zunkel retired each of the three batters he faced, including striking out a batter.
 
"Our bullpen was impressive once again. R.D., Nick and Cameron are three power arms that shut the door from the fifth inning on."
 
Nick Stroud (6-4) was tagged with the loss. He struck out two batters, conceded four walks and surrendered six runs on four hits in two and one-third innings. Jack Wildham walked one batter and gave up two runs on three hits in one and two-thirds innings. Andrew Grieshaber punched out four batters allowed one walk and scattered three runs on six hits in four innings. Cole Crawford struck out two batters while conceding a walk and a hit in one scoreless inning.
 
Martinez put Quincy on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff homer.
 
Quincy put UIS at two outs in the second, but the Prairie Stars still managed to capitalize. Hann and Harper both contributed RBI singles and Schaff smacked a two-run double.
 
"Myles Hann, Drew Harper and Jack Schaaf sparked the offense with three huge two-out hits in a row."
 
Speaker cranked a two-run double in the third to give UIS a 6-1 lead.
 
Tamaccio scored on a wild pitch in the third to trim Quincy's deficit to four runs.
 
Rothmund crushed a two-run homer in the fourth.
 
Quincy came within two runs after five innings. DeMuri singled in a run and Hilmes delivered a three-run double to cut UIS's lead to 8-6.
 
Hann knocked in John Sechen on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
 
Rothmund smashed a two-run blast in the seventh to put the Prairie Stars ahead by five.
 
During the bottom half of the inning, Nielsen added a run-scoring double.
 
The Prairie Stars tangle with seventh-seeded University of Southern Indiana (34-21) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Robin Roberts Stadium.
 
"[Saturday's] matchup against Southern Indiana will be another battle versus a program that expects to win. They have been as hot as any team in the region down the stretch. We will focus on our strength and be ready to go."