DAVENPORT, Fla. – The Illinois College baseball team closed out its Florida trip Saturday morning with a 16-6 victory over Hope College.
The Blueboys improve to 6-3 on the season.
Illinois College 16 Hope College 6
Illinois College struck first in the opening inning when Nathan Walker doubled and scored on an RBI single from Nicholas Muskopf.
The Blueboys added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Walker before extending the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Muskopf tripled and Tyler Barker followed with an RBI single.
After Hope pulled within one run in the sixth, Illinois College broke the game open in the seventh. Walker and Adam Turner reached base before Muskopf delivered a sacrifice fly and Nolan Decker added a two-RBI single to give IC a 6-2 advantage.
Hope scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 6–5, but the Blueboys broke the game open in the eighth. Muskopf and Barker each drew RBI walks before Decker launched a grand slam to push the lead to 12–5.
Illinois College added four more runs in the ninth, highlighted by a three-run homer from Ketch Mills.
Illinois College finished with 17 hits, with Nathan Walker, Adam Turner, Nicholas Muskopf, and Nolan Decker each collecting three hits. Decker also drove in six runs.
On the mound, Parker Phillis earned the win after allowing two runs, one earned, over five innings. Chase Schrader and Connor Akstulewicz combined to finish the game in relief.
Up Next
The Blueboys will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for another non-conference contest on Tuesday, March 10th as they take on Principia College at 5:00pm.
