The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team hit two grand slams in its season opener and it defeated Newman by a 17-2 margin. The victory was the first collegiate win for first-year head coach Ryan Copeland.
 
Newman led 2-0 after three innings, but UIS took the lead in the fourth. After a pair of singles to lead off the inning, Zion Pettigrew hit a three-run homer for the first three runs of the season for the Prairie Stars.
 
UIS broke the game open in the sixth and seventh with seven runs in each inning. Chris Monroe put the icing on the sixth inning with a grand slam. Kal Youngquist then followed with a grand slam in the seventh.
 
Offensively, the Prairie Stars had 17 hits in its opener. Bobby Barnard led the team with three hits, two runs, and five RBI. Monroe and Youngquist each had three hits and four RBI. Pettigrew collected three RBI. Nick Mayerhofer and Chris Mathieu recorded two hits apiece. Mayerhofer, Monroe, Youngquist, Mathieu, and Asher Bradd all crossed the plate twice.
 
On the mound, UIS did not allow an earned run, gave up just three hits, and struck out 12 batters. Jordan Mikel started and struck out five in three innings. Brendan Anderson earned the win after going 1 2/3 innings. Tyler Horvath, Brayden Jensen, Chad Saner, Cameron Leff, and Rece Finck all did not allow a run.
 
UIS and Newman will play a doubleheader on Sunday, starting at 11 a.m.