By: The Blueboys snapped a long losing streak to the Pioneers with a 9-3 victory in the opener, but Grinnell stole one in the second game, scoring four runs in the ninth to come from behind and get the win.
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College baseball team took a game from Grinnell College for the first time since 2015 with a 9-3 victory over the Pioneers in the opener of a four-game set with the Pioneers. The Blueboys were on the verge of a doubleheader sweep, but Grinnell rallied with four runs in the ninth inning of the second game, coming away with an 8-6 win.
IC and Grinnell are going to attempt to complete the four-game series this weekend, weather permitting. As of right now, the Blueboys and Pioneers will resume play on Saturday with the first pitch set for 12 p.m. The schedule page will be updated as changes happen.
Game One: Illinois College 9, Grinnell 3
Behind a 5-for-5 day at the plate from
Brendan Stanfield, Illinois College came back from a pair of one-run deficits for a 9-3 win in the opener. Stanfield tied a program record for hits in a game with his five hits. The last person to match the feat was Matthew Pardo against Grinnell on April 20, 2014.
Grinnell struck first, putting an unearned run on the board in the first inning against
Dylan Jones. Quinton McNitt singled and moved to second on an error. After a deep fly ball moved him to third, he came in on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead.
Stanfield started the bottom of the second inning with a double to the gap in right-center.
Daniel Reed singled him home two batters later. In the bottom of the third,
Austin Gusewelle hit a solo shot to stake the Blueboys to a 2-1 lead.
The Pioneers took the lead back, scoring runs with two outs in both the fourth and fifth innings. With the score 3-2 in favor of the visitors, the Blueboys responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good. Reed drove in his second run of the game to make it 3-3, and
Scott Kasting and
Brandon Skovronski each followed with RBIs to make it 5-3.
Jones cruised through the sixth and the Blueboy offense tacked on two runs in the bottom of the frame. A
Grant Argyilan double plated Stanfield and
Brennan Bergstralh to make it 7-3.
Ethan Crain relieved Jones going into the eighth and recovered from a lead-off double to keep Grinnell off the board. Reed singled home Stanfield in the bottom of the eighth and
Houston Kruse made it 9-3 with a sac fly that scored Argyilan. Crain left two Grinnell runners stranded in the ninth to preserve the win.
Jones picked up the victory on the hill, improving to 2-2 on the season. He struck out five while giving up just one unearned run. Bergstralh, Reed and Argyilan each had multiple hits in addition to Stanfield.
Game Two: Grinnell 8, Illinois College 6
The Blueboys looked to be in control after rallying from a 4-0 deficit early in the contest, but Grinnell scored four runs in the top of the ninth to shock the Blueboys, who left the tying run aboard in the bottom of the inning.
Grinnell put three runs on the board in the top of the first before
Austin Newton retired a batter. A walk and a hit batter put two aboard for Sam Galanek, who connected for a three-run shot. The Pioneers added another run in the second inning on a wild pitch after Newton was lifted in favor of reliever
Dentler Loschen.
Loschen quieted the Grinnell offense over the next few innings, and the Blueboys gradually worked their way back into it. Gusewelle cut the deficit in half with a two-run shot in the bottom of the third and Kasting tied it in the bottom of the fourth with another two-run homer.
In the sixth inning, Kruse doubled in Reed and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Blueboys their first lead of the game at 6-4. That lead held up until the ninth inning when
Quinn Miller walked the opening batter of the inning and gave way to
Ben Kettelkamp. Three straight singles by the Pioneers tied the game at 6-6, and Grinnell took the lead on an error and a sacrifice fly before the Blueboys could end the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, the first two Blueboy hitters struck out, but Skovronski kept the game alive with a two-out single and
Joe Paparelli was then hit by a pitch to bring the winning run to the plate. After a call to the pen, Grinnell's Charles Carr struck out Gusewelle to end the game.
Paparelli, Gusewelle and Reed all ended with two hits in the game for IC. Loschen went 6.0 innings in relief and struck out five batters without giving up a run.
