By: Dalton Kerans supplied the big blast – a three-run homer in the third inning – to give IC a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Mark this one down as a bit of future Illinois College trivia: who hit the first home run at the new Joe Brooks Baseball Field? The answer, courtesy of a bomb in the third inning that nearly christened the new ballpark with some broken windows in Coultas Natatorium, is
Dalton Kerans.
The junior clean-up hitter's three-run shot to the power alley in left gave the Blueboys a 4-1 lead and IC cruised from there for an 11-2 win over Robert Morris University-Springfield in the first game played on-campus for IC since the 2013 season. The Blueboys, winners of four straight, improve to 6-3 on the season.
After a scoreless first inning, RMU-Springfield surprised the home crowd by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a two-out single into center field to drive in a run. The Blueboys were quick to respond though, with
Bryce Rooney driving a double into right-center to score
Connor Melton from first and tie the score at 1-1 going to the third.
D.J. Davis worked a quiet third inning to bring his day to a close and the top of the Illinois College order got to work in the bottom half. Though
Austin Dormire lined out to right field on a ball hit right on the screws,
Austin Peck followed with a walk and
Cain Brady singled to put two on for Kerans. There was no doubt right off the bat that the ball was gone, and it didn't come down until it hit the bricks of the Bruner Center for a 4-1 IC lead.
Entering the game for Davis in the fourth,
Dylan Sunderland induced a 6-4-3 double play to erase a lead-off walk and bring the Blueboys back to the plate in the bottom half of the inning. With two on and one out, Dormire brought two runs in for a 6-1 lead on a single into center that was misplayed by the centerfielder. Two batters later, Brady tripled over the head of the right fielder to score Dormire, making it 7-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, Illinois College tacked on another run as an error from the RMU-Springfield third baseman kept the inning alive and
Taw Fredrickson singled through the left side with two outs to score Dormire for an 8-1 lead.
Tyler Kozaritz entered the game in the seventh for Sunderland, who earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the season. Kozaritz left two on base in the seventh and the Blueboys added two more runs in the bottom of the inning. Melton led off with a double off the wall in left-center and
Anthony Lucchesi brought the sophomore designated hitter in to score on a sac fly that left two down in the inning. Back to the top of the order, Dormire singled to keep the inning alive and Peck doubled him in for a 10-1 lead.
RMU-Springfield pulled one run back in the top of the eighth on a solo home run, but that was answered by a bases-loaded walk by Lucchesi to bring the final score to 11-2. Kozaritz worked an easy ninth to cap his three innings of work, which earned the sophomore his third consecutive save.
Dormire led the Blueboys from the lead-off spot with three hits, a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Brady and Melton each had two hits in the game as well. Kerans led all players in the contest with three RBIs.
Illinois College will be back at home on March 19 for a doubleheader against Carroll University. The first game between the Blueboys and Pioneers is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
