JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Illinois College used late-inning offense in both games to sweep Beloit College on Saturday at Joe Brooks Field, winning 6-5 in walk-off fashion in the opener before securing a 7-4 victory in game two.
Illinois College improves to 11-9 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Beloit falls to 7-11 (0-2).
Game One – Illinois College 6 Beloit 5
Illinois College erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning to walk off Beloit in dramatic fashion in the opener.
The Blueboys struck first in the second inning. Logan Fleener doubled to left before Dalton Strode drove him in with an RBI double. Nathan Walker followed with an RBI single to give Illinois College a 2-0 lead.
Beloit answered in the third on a sacrifice fly and then surged ahead in the seventh. A passed ball allowed a run to score before Blake Nelson launched a three-run home run to put Beloit in front 5-2.
Illinois College responded in the bottom of the ninth. Logan Fleener reached on an error and Dalton Strode was hit by a pitch before another Beloit miscue loaded the bases with two outs. Nicholas Muskopf delivered the decisive swing, lining a three-run double to left-center to tie the game. Ketch Mills followed with a walk-off RBI single to left, scoring Muskopf and sealing the comeback.
Muskopf finished with two hits and three RBIs. Nathan Walker collected three hits and drove in a run, while Mills added two hits including the game-winning RBI. Strode scored twice in the victory.
Xavier Koch earned the win in relief with 2.2 innings of one-hit baseball. Dawson Vernier started and worked four innings, while Wade Sabo and Coy Dettmer also appeared on the mound.
Game Two – Illinois College 7 Beloit 4
Illinois College broke open a tight contest with a four-run seventh inning to complete the sweep.
Beloit took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI double, but the Blueboys answered in the fourth when Ethan Klunk drove in Nolan Decker with an RBI single to even the score.
The Blueboys moved ahead in the sixth. Logan Fleener lined a two-run single to center, scoring Ketch Mills and Decker to make it 3-1.
Illinois College added insurance in the seventh. Tyler Barker doubled home a run before Nolan Decker and Ketch Mills each delivered RBI doubles. Fleener capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 7-1.
Beloit scored three runs in the ninth to tighten the margin, but Illinois College closed out the 7-4 win.
Fleener drove in three runs in game two. Mills went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Decker scored three times and added an RBI. Klunk recorded two hits and an RBI, and Josh Morales also tallied two hits.
Anthony Buonaura earned the win with six innings of one-run baseball. Michael Larson worked 2.2 innings in relief, and Connor Akstulewicz recorded the final out.
Up Next
The Blueboys will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon as they close out the series with Beloit at 12:00pm back at the Joe Brooks Field.
