The Illinois Springfield baseball team (19-7, 8-1) secured a series-opening 3-2 victory over Quincy (19-10, 8-4) on Friday at the UIS Baseball Field. 

After a clean top of the first from Ben Benoit, Tommy Atkinson led off for the Prairie Stars with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning for an early 1-0 advantage.

In the third inning, Chris Suchoski doubled to right field, followed by a single from Atkinson that advanced Suchoski to third. Kody Morton then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Suchoski to score. UIS led 2-0 after three innings. Quincy responded in the fourth inning with an RBI single by Patrick Mendiola, cutting the deficit to one run. 

Johnny Wendling extended UIS' lead in the seventh with a solo home run. The score stood at 3-1 after seven innings.

Quincy cut the deficit to one in the eighth inning when Jace Figuereo scored on an RBI single from Payton Mansfield. Reliever Isaac Graf responded by inducing a groundout and a flyout to keep UIS in front.

In the ninth, Quincy threatened again with a leadoff single, but the UIS defense held firm to secure the win. 

Ben Benoit delivered a strong performance on the mound for UIS, pitching 6 innings and allowing only one earned run on six hits. He struck out four batters and issued just one walk. Isaac Graf followed with three innings in relief, giving up one earned run on four hits, while recording a save. 

Tommy Atkinson contributed significantly with three hits and an RBI. Johnny Wendling made an impact, adding a home run and an RBI as well. Chris Suchoski doubled and scored once, while also making an impact behind the plate by catching a runner stealing. UIS made the most of its three hits and two walks in the series opener on Alumni Weekend.

UIS holds a record of 19-7 and is 8-1 in conference play. Quincy has a record of 19-10 and is 8-4 in the conference.

"It was a good start to the series and a good team win," said head coach Chris Rodriguez. "We made pitches, had timely hits, and made plays defensively. Ben gave us a quality start and executed multiple pitches. Tommy led our offense today along with Johnny coming up with a big solo jack late. Isaac did a good job of attacking the zone and finishing it out."

Up Next
The series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday, first pitch is set for noon.