The UIS baseball team dropped the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon, falling 11-1 to Missouri S&T in a winner-take-all matchup. The Miners, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, claimed their first-ever GLVC title after battling through the losers' bracket.
The Prairie Stars, the tournament's No. 2 seed, fell to 36-16 on the season and will await their NCAA postseason fate during Sunday night's selection show. UIS was ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Midwest Region rankings and fourth in the latest NCBWAÂ regional poll.Â
Missouri S&T (33-23) avenged its 10-3 loss to UIS in the opening round of the tournament and won four consecutive elimination games, including back-to-back wins over UMSL on Saturday, to reach its first GLVC final.
UIS won against Missouri S&T, Quincy (8-0), and Drury (5-2) to remain the final unbeaten team. The Prairie Stars were making their fourth appearance in a conference title game and first since winning the championship in 2022. They did not qualify for the tournament in 2024 and were picked sixth in the 2025 GLVC preseason poll. Missouri S&T, picked 10th in the preseason, secured the conference's automatic NCAA tournament berth with Sunday's win.
Championship Game Recap
- UIS had chances early but struggled to capitalize, leaving the bases loaded in both the second and third innings. The Stars took a 1-0 lead in the third on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Noah Caceres, but a lineout ended the threat.
- Adam Lindsey worked through traffic in the early innings before Missouri S&T broke through with three runs in the fourth. The Miners added two more in the fifth after a hit-by-pitch and walk set up back-to-back RBI singles.
- UIS trailed 5-1 heading into the sixth, when Missouri S&T extended the lead with three runs on two hits and an error. The Miners added two more runs in the seventh and one in the ninth. They stole six bases in the game, with four of those coming after the fifth inning as they added to their lead.
- Caceres and Johnny Wendling led UIS at the plate, each going 2-for-3. Ethan Bowers added a ninth-inning single and reached third base before a flyout ended the game. The Prairie Stars collected eight hits to the Miners' 11, but Missouri S&T made theirs count earlier in the game and took advantage of UIS miscues.
- Lindsey (4-4) took the loss, allowing five hits and three runs in 3.2 innings with two strikeouts. Four relievers followed for UIS, including Esteban Hernandez, Austin Loberger, Seth Masters, and Brayden Mayer.Â
All-Tournament Team
Ivan Dahlberg
Jackson Blemler
Seth Masters
Mark Decicco
Up Next
The NCAA Division II Selection Show will stream live at
ncaa.com on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. CT. UIS hopes to earn an at-large berth to the Midwest Regional, which will be hosted at a campus site.
Regional Outlook
Automatic bids have already been secured by Davenport (GLIAC champion), Northwood (GMAC champion), and Missouri S&T (GLVC champion). Teams still under regional consideration include UIS, Lewis, Maryville, Drury, and Indianapolis.
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