The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team opened up its important series against Indianapolis with a big win. In the battle between the top two teams in the GLVC Blue Division, the Prairie Stars took the opener by a 15-2 score.
 
Indianapolis had a 1-0 lead early, but Zion Pettigrew made that short-lived after he belted a three-run home runs in the third inning. That blast woke up the UIS offense, and it scored seven more runs over the next two innings.
 
That was more than enough for pitcher Colton Hale. He threw six innings and allowed just five hits and the one run. He struck out four and walked three in his eighth victory of the season, and 25th of his career.
 
Late in the game, Bobby Barnard put the icing on with an eighth-inning grand slam. A.J. Golembiewski closed out the final two innings on the mound.
 
For the contest, Asher Bradd, Pettigrew, and Kal Youngquist all had two hits. Youngquist reached base four times after walking twice, and he drove in two. Bradd, Brandon Bannon, Pettigrew, Brant Vanaman, Hunter Phelps, and Nick Mayerhofer all scored twice. Phelps had a home run, and Bannon hit a double.
 
In the GLVC Blue Division, UIS now has a 3 ½ game lead over Quincy and four game lead over Indianapolis, with seven games remaining. The Prairie Stars are 34-6 overall and 14-3 in GLVC play, and they have won 16 straight. UIS and Indianapolis will play a pair on Saturday afternoon starting at noon (eastern).