The UIS baseball team will look to continue two long winning streaks this week when it hosts a four-game series against Lewis. The Prairie Stars have won seven straight games overall, and they have won the last 18 times they have taken the field at the UIS Baseball Field.
 
Last weekend, the Prairie Stars swept Southern Indiana in a four-game series at home. The scores of the two doubleheaders were 9-2, 19-2, 9-1, and 6-2. UIS also won a non-conference game over Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday by a 10-1 margin.
 
The nationally-ranked UIS team is now 25-6 overall and 5-3 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars are second in the Blue Division in terms of winning percentage, and the only team with three or fewer conference losses.
 
The pitching for UIS has been dominant lately, especially its starting staff. Over the last seven games, the Prairie Stars starters have combined for a 2.27 ERA and a .152 opponent batting average. The starters have struck out nearly 14 batters per nine innings.
 
Blake Begner was the GLVC Pitcher of the Week last week after going five innings and allowing just two hits and two walks in the second game of the Southern Indiana series. He struck out 10 batters in the win.
 
Also on the mound last weekend, Colton Hale became the school's all-time wins leader. In the first game of the series, Hale won his 23^rd contest as a Prairie Star, and is now 23-3 in his career.
 
Offensively, UIS continues to be among the top in NCAA Division II, currently ranking third with 10.4 runs per game. Several Prairie Stars are in the top-10 in the nation in offensive categories including Asher Bradd in hits per game and runs, and Zion Pettigrew in home runs and slugging percentage.
 
UIS enters play this week on an 18-game home winning streak, the longest current streak in NCAA Division II. The Prairie Stars are the only team in the nation that has played 10 or more home games this season and have not lost, and one of three teams in all three NCAA Divisions with that accomplishment.

UIS vs. Lewis
Date/Time/Location: Thursday, April 14, 2:00 p.m. – Springfield, Ill.
Date/Time/Location: Friday, April 15, 12:00 p.m. – Springfield, Ill. (DH)
Date/Time/Location: Saturday, April 16, 1:00 p.m. – Springfield, Ill.
Streaming: https://glvcsn.com/uis/ 
Live Stats: https://uisprairiestars.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Lewis heads to Springfield this weekend with a 10-16-1 overall record this season. The Flyers are 6-6 in GLVC play, and currently sit fourth in the standings.
 
Last weekend, Lewis went 1-3 in a series against Quincy. The Flyers won game one by an 8-7 margin, but Quincy took the next three by scores of 13-0, 4-2, and 18-4.
 
Lewis has one of the top pitching staffs in the league, coming into the weekend with the third best ERA with a 5.70 mark. It is fifth in the league in both strikeouts per nine innings (9.1) and WHIP (1.64). Offensively, Lewis is averaging 6.2 runs per game.
 
Michael Sclafani has won his last two starts, both in GLVC play. He has a 3.27 ERA in that span, and allowed just 10 hits in 11 innings. Offensively, Lewis is led by Thomas Fox, who is batting .358 with a .611 slugging percentage. He leads the team with 28 runs, 34 hits, 10 doubles, four home runs, and 28 RBI.
 
Last season, UIS was 4-1 against Lewis. The Prairie Stars won three of the four games in the regular season, and they then defeated Lewis in the GLVC Tournament by an 11-10 score. Four of those five games were decided by two runs or less.

Up Next
UIS starts an eight-game road trip following this series, starting with a four-game set at Missouri S&T on April 22-24.