The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team returns home this weekend for a Great Lakes Valley Conference series against Lincoln (Mo.), a newcomer to the GLVC this season. The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, followed by another doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday.

Illinois Springfield (12-10, 6-5 GLVC)
UIS is coming off a successful weekend series against Missouri-St. Louis, where it took three of four games. UIS won the opener 10-7, dropped the second game 10-7, and bounced back with two 8-2 victories on Saturday. The Prairie Stars followed up with a 13-6 win at Maryville on Tuesday in a game that was scoreless through six innings. Kannon Walker earned the win in relief after entering in the bottom of the fifth. The offense was a shared effort, with Kody Morton going 2-for-4. with two runs scored, and driving in five runs.

On the season, Mark Kattula is leading UIS with a .419 batting average, a .570 slugging percentage, 36 hits, and 20 RBIs. Ethan Bowers has improved his average to .333 in the recent stretch, collecting 26 hits so far this season. Ivan Dahlberg remains the team's home run leader with five, while three other teammates are close behind with four each. 

Walker improved to 3-0 on the mound Tuesday, a record that leads the UIS pitching staff. Esteban Hernandez is one of three other pitchers with a 2-0 record and continues to be a consistent starter for the Prairie Stars.

Lincoln (2-22, 0-8 GLVC)
The Blue Tigers are still seeking their first GLVC win after being swept in consecutive series against UMSL and Lewis. Most recently, the Blue Tigers dropped four games to Lewis by scores of 13-3, 6-4, 10-4, and 12-5. While Lincoln has managed to generate some offense, it has struggled to limit opponents' run production.

Lincoln's two wins this season came in February with a 7-6 victory over Northwestern (Iowa) and a 3-2 win over William Woods. Jayden Little is the team's top hitter, batting .349 with 30 hits and leading the team with six doubles and six home runs. Ty Ollison follows closely with a .348 average and 15 hits.

Jacob Zahner and Ed Noy have handled the bulk of the innings for Lincoln this season, each surpassing 30 innings pitched. Zahner has made six starts, while Noy has started seven games. Jacob Claborn has collected both of Lincoln's wins in relief.

Follow Along
All games this weekend will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network, with live statistics available at uisprairiestars.com.