The UIS baseball team continued its series against Upper Iowa on Saturday in Fayette, Iowa, picking up a pair of wins in a doubleheader of seven-inning games. The Prairie Stars improved to 20-10 overall and 13-5 in GLVC play, solidifying their hold on second place in the conference standings. The series finale is scheduled for noon on Sunday. 

GAME ONE | W, 4-3

• UIS threatened early but left the bases loaded in the first inning. Starting pitcher Mark Decicco worked around two walks in the bottom half, striking out three.
• The Prairie Stars broke through in the third. Ethan Bowers walked, Mark Kattula singled, and both advanced on a passed ball that allowed Bowers to score. Kattula came home on a subsequent error to make it 2-0 UIS.
• Austin Loberger came on in the fifth to get the final out of the inning, preserving a 2-0 lead.
• In the sixth, Kody Morton walked, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a Johnny Wendling single. Later in the inning, the bases were loaded, and UIS added another run via a series of wild pitches, scoring Mack Clark, who had also walked.
• Upper Iowa responded, plating a run on a hit-by-pitch and a triple, then adding two more on singles after Seth Masters entered in relief. Masters was able to work out of the jam with the tying run stranded on third.
• The seventh inning went quietly on both sides, and the Prairie Stars held on for the 4-3 victory.
• Despite being outhit 4-3, UIS drew nine walks, compared to eight for UIU. Bowers, Kattula, and Wendling recorded the three UIS hits.
• Mark Decicco earned the win, going 4.2 innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three. Seth Masters picked up his fifth save of the season, closing out the final two innings.

GAME TWO | W, 9-4

• Brayden Mayer took the start in the second game and held UIU scoreless through the first three innings.
• UIS got on the board in the second with an RBI single by Mack Clark.
• Upper Iowa tied the game in the fourth with a pair of walks and a single, prompting Kannon Walker to enter in relief. The Peacocks took a brief 2-1 lead in the fifth following a hit-by-pitch, a groundout, and an RBI double. Walker escaped further damage, and UIU left the bases loaded.
• UIS answered with a three-run sixth inning. Ethan Bowers singled and advanced on a throwing error. Following a pitching change, Mark Kattula singled to move Bowers to third, who then scored on another error. Noah Caceres singled, and Johnny Wendling brought home both Kattula and Caceres with a two-RBI single to give UIS a 4-2 lead.
• Jack Tobin entered to pitch the sixth and retired the side in order.
• The Prairie Stars broke things open with five runs on three hits and one error in the seventh. Ty Hollandsworth and Kody Morton each had singles in the rally, and Wendling added his third RBI of the game.
• Upper Iowa tried to mount a rally in the final frame, scoring two runs on four hits, including a solo home run, but UIS held on for the 9-4 win.
• Ethan Bowers and Mark Kattula both went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Johnny Wendling finished with three RBIs.
• Kannon Walker earned the win as the pitcher of record when UIS took the lead, and Jack Tobin picked up his first save as a Prairie Star. 

Up Next
The Prairie Stars and Peacocks will conclude the four-game series with a nine-inning game on Sunday at noon.