Behind a great pitching performance by Colton Hale, the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional #2 Championship game. The Prairie Stars defeated Walsh on Friday in Detroit, Mich. by a 14-1 margin.
 
UIS needs just one win over two games to capture its second all-time Midwest Regional Championship, and advance to the NCAA Midwest Super Regional. The Prairie Stars first chance for that win comes Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (eastern), against the winner of that morning's Walsh/Wayne State contest.
 
Hale threw eight innings and allowed just eight hits. He struck out 11 and did not walk or hit a batter. The only run he allowed came in the sixth inning after UIS had already built an 8-0 lead. He gave up back-to-back hits for the first time that inning, but quickly limited the damage, and he would go on and retire the next seven batters he faced.
 
In the seventh, Hale struck out the first batter of the inning, which was his 198th career strikeout, a new UIS record. He added two more in that inning to reach 200 for his career. The win moved Hale to 11-1 on the season, and 28-3 in his Prairie Stars career.
 
Offensively, UIS had a balanced offense that recorded 19 hits, including 10 extra-base hits, and it scored in seven of its nine at-bats. Austin Alderman had two doubles, a home run, three runs, and two RBI. Zion Pettigrew also homered, tying the UIS single-season record of 24. Pettigrew had a team-high three RBI and scored once.
 
Asher Bradd, Brant Vanaman, and Nick Mayerhofer all had three hits. Brandon Bannon scored three times and drove in two, and Vanaman had three RBI. Blake Begner did not allow a run in the ninth, giving up just one walk in the inning.
 
UIS improves to 45-8 overall on the season.