The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team earned a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon in West Virginia. The Prairie Stars opened the day with a 9-2 win over Saginaw Valley State, and then defeated West Virginia State by a 10-7 margin.
 
In the opener, UIS's bullpen did not allow a run in 3 1/3 innings work, and the Prairie Stars offense scored all nine runs in its final four at-bats.
 
The game was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth when UIS loaded the bases, and Zion Pettigrew hit a grand slam that put UIS ahead for good.
 
Jordan Mikel threw 5 2/3 innings, and allowed just three hits and one walk. He struck out nine batters. Colton Hale pitched an inning and earned the win. Mason Coon, R.D. Lutze, and Cameron Leff also saw action in the mound. The four relief pitchers allowed just one hit, and struck out five.
 
Offensively, Pettigrew finished with two hits, three runs, and four RBI. Chris Monroe also had two hits in the game, and Nick Mayerhofer scored twice.
 
UIS knocked off West Virginia State by a 10-7 score. Another grand slam, this one by Austin Alderman proved to be the big hit. Ruben Markham had three hits, and Pettigrew collected two more hits.
 
On the mound, Cameron Zunkel earned the win, and Chad Saner got the save. Tyler Horvath pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, and struck out five.
 
UIS improves to 5-1 on the year. The Prairie Stars end their weekend road trip on Sunday with a single game against Saginaw Valley State.