The University of Illinois Springfield and Lewis baseball teams continued their recent trend of playing close and wild games on Thursday afternoon at the UIS Baseball Field. The Prairie Stars scored twice in the ninth inning for an 8-7 victory over Flyers.
 
UIS led early in the back-and-forth game, but Lewis took a 6-5 lead after scoring six times in the fifth and sixth inning. The Flyers then added an insurance run in the eighth for a 7-5 advantage. Austin Alderman got one run back for the Prairie Stars with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for a wild ninth inning.
 
Asher Bradd opened the UIS ninth with a triple off the right-field fence. Brandon Bannon then tied the game with a single through the drawn in infield. The next two batters also reached to load the bases for the Prairie Stars. After a strikeout for the first out, the Lewis pitcher got a 2-2 count on the next batter. Before the next pitch though, he committed a balk, and Bannon was awarded home with the winning run.
 
Bradd and Bannon did most of the offensive damage in the game. Bradd had two triples and scored three times. Bannon had two hits, two runs, and three RBI. Zion Pettigrew had two hits, and Kal Youngquist had a double for the Prairie Stars.
 
On the mound, Colton Hale threw five innings on the start, and allowed just two runs. Brendan Anderson earned the win after pitching a perfect top of the ninth, and Mason Coon had a good relief outing, striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.
 
UIS improves to 26-6 overall and 6-3 in the GLVC. The Prairie Stars and Lewis will continue their series with a doubleheader on Friday.