The UIS baseball team (5-2) narrowly fell to Florida Southern (4-8) with a final score of 5-4 on Sunday afternoon. On a breezy day in the heart of Florida, nine hits and a home run highlighted the effort for the visiting Prairie Stars, but the home team held on for the win. The game marked the conclusion of a four-game series, which resulted in a split between the two teams.

GAME FOUR | L, 5-4
UIS opened the scoring in the first inning with a sacrifice fly from Brian Daker that brought Tommy Atkinson home after he and Tyler Thompson reached base on singles. The Prairie Stars led 1-0 after the first inning. Florida Southern responded in the second with back-to-back solo home runs, putting them ahead 2-1 after two innings.

In the fourth, UIS regained the lead when Daker hit a two-run homer, scoring Thompson who had singled. This put UIS ahead 3-2. However, Florida Southern quickly answered with another solo home run, tying the game at 3-3 after the fourth inning.

Brayden Mayer took over for starting pitcher Graham Kasey in the sixth inning. Florida Southern took a 5-3 the lead when two batters reached base, and were driven in with a single. The Prairie Stars cut the deficit in the seventh when Tyler Thompson's fourth hit brought home Corey Boyette, who reached on an error, making it 5-4 after seven innings.

Despite a late push, the Prairie Stars did not score in the final two innings, and the Mocs held on for the win. 

Graham Kasey worked five innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs while striking out three. In the sixth, Brayden Mayer faced four batters, allowing three hits and two earned runs, before Jaden Mathon entered and got UIS out of the inning. Austin Loberger added one clean inning of relief, and Isaac Graf pitched a scoreless ninth.

Tyler Thompson went four-for-five with an RBI, while Brian Daker homered and drove in three runs. Kody Morton showed patience at the plate, drawing three walks and adding a hit. Hunter Moser anchored the defense with four assists at third base.

"We fell short today, but I am proud of how our team competed." said head coach Chris Rodriguez. "A few more executed pitches on the mound and a couple of at-bats change the outcome. That's baseball though, especially against strong opponents where the margin between victory and defeat is narrow. We will learn from it and get back to work this week."

The Prairie Stars have an overall record of 5-2. The Mocs hold an overall record of 4-8.

Up Next
UIS, now through seven games, prepares for its first home action of the season with a Friday, Feb. 20, doubleheader against UMSL Tritons. The Stars will then travel to St. Louis to face UMSL on Sunday, Feb. 22, as the two teams share hosting duties for the non-conference series.