The UIS and Rockhurst baseball teams closed out their four-game series on Friday with a doubleheader split. Rockhurst took the first game 12-5, but UIS bounced back in the second game with a dramatic 9-6 win, highlighted by a walk-off three-run homer from
Noah Caceres.
GAME ONE | L, 12-5
- Mark Decicco took the start for the Prairie Stars and retired the first batter of the game with a strikeout. Ethan Bowers led off the game with a single and stole second. Michael Paule then homered to bring in Bowers and Dahlberg, giving UIS an early 3-0 lead.
- Rockhurst quickly responded, taking advantage of a bases-loaded walk and a bases-clearing triple to go up 4-3. After two steady innings, Rockhurst added more runs in the fifth, including a three-run homer.
- Brayden Mayer came out of the bullpen and went 2.2 innings, keeping the score in check in the fifth inning. However, Rockhurst continued their surge with a four-run sixth inning, fueled by three singles, a sac fly, and a sac bunt.
- Kody Morton's solo homer in the sixth cut the deficit to 11-4, and Ethan Bowers drove in another run, but Rockhurst extended its lead to 12-5 in the seventh on a solo shot.
- Decicco took the loss, ending his streak of four consecutive wins. Morton and Bowers were both 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
GAME TWO | W, 9-6
- Senior Adam Lindsey started game two, and would go 4.1 innings. UIS struck first with a Johnny Wendling sac fly to score Kody Morton, who had doubled. Ty Hollandsworth then hit a two-run homer to bring in Mack Clark and give UIS a 3-0 lead.
- Rockhurst responded with five runs in the fifth inning, capitalizing on four hits and two walks. Both Quinn Hoftender and Austin Loberger allowed home runs to the first batter they faced, but Loberger settled in and ended the inning with a strikeout.
- Down 5-3, the Prairie Stars responded in the bottom of the fifth. Ivan Dahlberg and Michael Paule singled, and Kody Morton's groundout moved the runners over. Mack Clark then hit a 2-RBI double to put UIS back on top, 6-5.
- Rockhurst tied it up in the top of the ninth with a single that brought a runner home. In the bottom of the ninth, on Senior Day, UIS got to work. Dahlberg singled again, and Kody Morton walked. With one out, Noah Caceres came in as a pinch hitter and delivered a three-run walk-off homer to secure the 9-6 victory and the series win.
- Jack Tobin came in to pitch three innings in relief, allowing one run and earning the win to improve to 4-1 on the season.
- Mack Clark finished the game 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. Caceres' walk-off homer drove in 3 RBI, while Hollandsworth had 2 RBI. Wendling and Morton each contributed with 1 RBI.
UIS baseball celebrated 19 seniors after the day's games. The following student-athletes were honored for their contributions to the program:
Up Next
With the final home series behind them, UIS will finish the regular season on the road, facing Southwest Baptist next week and McKendree the following week.
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