The UIS baseball team (15-6, 4-0 GLVC) completed a series sweep of William Jewell (4-15, 0-4 GLVC) with a pair of decisive victories in Saturday's doubleheader, winning 9-1 in the seven-inning opener before closing the series with a 15-5 run-rule victory in eight innings.
GAME THREE | W, 9-1
In Saturday's first game, UIS opened with a strong start, scoring three runs in the first inning.
Kody Morton doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch, followed by
Corey Boyette drawing a walk and stealing second.
Drew Ezard then homered to left field, driving in both Morton and Boyette to give the Prairie Stars a 3-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
The second inning saw the Prairie Stars add three more runs.
Hunter Moser singled and stole second, followed by a walk to
Jesse Contreras.
Tommy Atkinson hit a three-run homer to left field, extending the lead to 6-0.
In the fifth inning, UIS added another run when Noah Caceres lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Corey Boyette and extend the lead to 7-0. William Jewell answered with a run in the bottom half to make it 7-1.
The Prairie Stars tacked on two more in the seventh, as Caceres and Hunter Moser delivered RBI singles to bring home Boyette and Kaden Griffitts, sealing the 9-1 victory.
Graham Kasey delivered a solid performance, pitching 4 2/3 innings while allowing just one earned run and striking out six batters.
Derek Huber retired the final batter in the fifth inning, and
Kyle Tyler pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three while allowing just one hit.
Atkinson made a strong impact with a home run and three RBIs. Ezard also homered, finishing with two hits and three RBIs. Boyette scored three runs and drew three walks, while Griffitts added two hits, including a double, and scored a run.
GAME FOUR | W, 15-5
In the final game of the series, the Prairie Stars once again scored in the first inning. Tommy Atkinson walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Kody Morton singled to drive him in for a 1-0 advantage.
In the third inning, UIS extended its lead when Atkinson hit a solo home run to left field. The Prairie Stars added to their lead again in the fourth. After Johnny Wendling singled and Noah Caceres reached on a fielder's choice, Parker Heistand doubled to score Caceres. Tommy Atkinson then launched a three-run home run to extend the advantage to 6-0.
William Jewell chipped away with a solo home run in the fifth and a bases-clearing double in the seventh, pulling within one run at 6-5.
UIS answered emphatically in the eighth inning, erupting for nine runs to put the game away. RBIs from Atkinson, Corey Boyette, and Kaden Griffitts highlighted the inning, while Caceres added a two-run double as the Prairie Stars secured the 15-5 run-rule victory.
Mark DeCicco delivered a strong start, pitching six innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out six. Isaac Graf then turned in a dominant inning, striking out the side.
Atkinson led the offense with four hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs. Griffitts recorded two hits, including a double, and drove in three runs. Boyette added a triple among his two hits and collected an RBI, while Caceres scored three runs and stole two bases.
UIS now holds an overall record of 15-6 and is 4-0 in GLVC play, while William Jewell falls to 4-15 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
"I'm very proud of the way we competed today," said head coach Chris Rodriguez. "It was a dominant performance from our guys on both sides of the ball. We got good starts from both Kasey and DeCicco. Tyler and Graf were sharp out of the pen as well. We continuously applied pressure and found ways to get big hits with runners on, with Griffitts, Caceres, and Atkinson all driving in runs in big moments. We are excited to build off of this and get to work this week."
Up Next
UIS returns home next weekend to host Drury in a GLVC series scheduled for March 20-22
