UIS baseball opened the GLVC Tournament with one of the most explosive offensive performances in conference tournament history before its postseason stay at Mountain Dew Park came to an end Wednesday night.
The fifth-seeded Prairie Stars defeated No. 8 seed Rockhurst 20-1 in the tournament opener before falling 8-5 to No. 4 seed Drury later in the day. Under the GLVC's new tournament format, seeds 5-8 were required to survive a pair of single-elimination games on the opening day, while the top four seeds received first-round byes.
Despite the early conference tournament exit, UIS remains in strong position for an NCAA Midwest Regional berth. The Prairie Stars were announced Wednesday as the No. 3 team in the regional rankings, which are used to determine the NCAA postseason field.
UIS opened the day with a historic offensive showing against Rockhurst. The Prairie Stars scored 20 runs, the most in a GLVC Tournament game since 1995, while totaling 20 hits, six doubles, and two triples.
Rockhurst briefly led 1-0 before UIS answered with eight runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kaden Griffitts launched a three-run homer during the frame, while Kody Morton added an RBI triple and Tommy Atkinson delivered a two-run double.
UIS continued to add on throughout the afternoon. Atkinson tripled home two runs in the third inning, and the Prairie Stars broke the game open with six more runs in the fifth. They added four additional runs in the sixth to reach the 20-run mark.
Atkinson and Griffitts each finished a hit shy of the cycle. Atkinson recorded three hits and drove in five runs, while Griffitts homered and also collected five RBIs. Jesse Contreras scored three runs, and UIS received contributions throughout the lineup.
Graham Kasey earned the win after allowing one run over five innings while striking out five. Brayden Mayer and Quinn Hoftender each provided an inning in relief.
Later Wednesday, UIS jumped ahead early against Drury but could not hold the lead in an 8-5 loss that ended the Prairie Stars' conference tournament run.
UIS scored three runs in the first inning behind RBIs from Kody Morton and Johnny Wendling. Drury answered immediately with a four-run bottom half.
The Panthers added two more runs in the fourth inning and extended the lead to 8-3 in the sixth. UIS scored once in the seventh and added a solo home run from Corey Boyette in the eighth, but the comeback fell short.
Tommy Atkinson recorded three hits in the loss, while Boyette homered and scored twice. Wendling added two RBIs.
UIS turns its attention toward the NCAA postseason picture.
The Prairie Stars moved up to No. 3 in the latest Midwest Regional rankings behind Grand Valley State and Wayne State (Mich.). Missouri S&T sits fourth, followed by Davenport, Findlay, UIndy, Ashland, Drury, and Missouri-St. Louis.
UIS is seeking its sixth NCAA Regional appearance and first since 2023. The Prairie Stars advanced to the Division II National Championships in 2022 and hosted an NCAA Regional in 2023.
The NCAA Division II Baseball Championship selections will be announced Monday at 9:00 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
