The University of Illinois Springfield baseball's bats came alive late in Saturday's doubleheader at Tusculum. That helped the Prairie Stars record a come-from-behind victory in the second game and salvage a split on the day.
 
Tusculum captured the first game by a 4-1 margin. The Pioneers hit a pair of solo home runs, including one that broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth innings, and then added two insurance tallies in the eighth.
 
Newcomer Quinn Gudaitis started the game on the mound and threw three innings and allowed one run and four hits. He recorded five of the team's 12 strikeouts in the game. Offensively, Bobby Barnard and Nick Mayerhofer combined for four of the team's eight hits. The Prairie Stars only run came when Mayerhofer hit a double that scored Barnard.
 
In game two, UIS was three outs away from being swept, but it came back for an 8-7 victory.
 
In the seven-inning game, UIS trailed 7-6 going into the final inning. Barnard opened the inning with a walk, and then UIS loaded the bases with a single to Asher Bradd and a walk to Brandon Bannon. A balk tied the game, and then Bradd scored the go-ahead run when Kal Younquist grounded out.
 
UIS's other runs all came from two-run home runs by Bannon, Youngquist, and Brant Vanaman. Vanaman's home run was a massive shot, estimating to be 467 feet by the home team's equipment.
 
Matt Blaney earned the win after getting UIS out of two jams. In the fifth, he entered the game with the bases loaded, and recorded a strikeout for the third out. The next inning, Blaney allowed the first two runners on, but got two straight shutouts and a fly out to escape that frame. Luke Fitton earned the save, allowing just a harmless two-out single in the final inning. Clarke Davenport also had a good day pitching, going three scoreless innings of relief, and allowing no hits and four strikeouts.
 
UIS and Tusculum will conclude their four-game series on Sunday afternoon.