JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois College baseball team continued its historic season on Sunday afternoon, rolling past Knox 12-2 to secure a new single season program record with its 23rd win while also officially clinching a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament.
The Blueboys improve to 23-14 overall and 14-4 in conference play, while Knox falls to 5-31 (3-15).
Illinois College wasted no time getting on the board, striking in the first inning as Ketch Mills brought home Tyler Barker with a sacrifice fly to take an early 1-0 lead. The Blueboys added on in the second with an RBI single from Maddox Klawitter and continued to build momentum in the third as Logan Fleener drove in another run to make it 3-0.
After manufacturing two more runs in the fourth and taking advantage of a Knox error, the Blueboys held a 5-0 lead midway through the game.
Knox broke through in the sixth inning with a two run single, but Illinois College responded immediately in the bottom half. Nathan Walker started the inning with a base hit before Ketch Mills drove him in. Two batters later, Nolan Decker delivered the biggest swing of the day with a three run home run to push the lead to 9-2.
The offense kept rolling as Josh Morales added an RBI single later in the inning to extend the lead to 10-2.
Illinois College added two more runs in the seventh to bring the run rule into effect. Walker ripped a double for his 64th hit of the season to set a new single season program record before Barker followed with an RBI double. The Blueboys later added another run on a Knox error to secure the 12-2 victory.
The Blueboys totaled 15 hits on the day, with Tyler Barker leading the way with three hits, while Nathan Walker, Ketch Mills, Nolan Decker, and Adam Turner each recorded multiple hits. Decker paced the offense with three RBIs, highlighted by his home run.
On the mound, Michael Larson set the tone early, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out four. Xavier Koch earned the win in relief, and Coy Dettmer closed things out with 1.1 scoreless innings.
Up Next
The Blueboys will travel to Grinnell, Iowa for a three game series that will decide the regular season conference champion, beginning Friday with a single game at 3:00 PM followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
