GRINNELL, Iowa. - Illinois College opened Midwest Conference Tournament play on Friday with a pair of hard-fought games, rallying past Beloit College 11-7 in the opener before dropping a 10-inning battle to host Grinnell College, 9-8, in the winner's bracket matchup.

With the split, the Blueboys move to 25-17 overall and remain alive in the tournament heading into Saturday's elimination play.

Game One - Illinois College 11 Beloit 7
Illinois College erased multiple deficits and exploded for five runs in the eighth inning to pull away from Beloit and open tournament play with a comeback victory.

Beloit jumped out early with three runs in the second, but the Blueboys answered in the third when Tyler Barker drove in a run before Ketch Mills launched a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.

After Beloit regained control with three runs in the fourth and carried a 6-3 lead into the late innings, Illinois College chipped away. Tyler Grzela delivered an RBI single in the sixth, and Maddox Klawitter added a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to one. Mills then came through again in the seventh, adding his second home run of the day to even the score at 6-6.

Beloit briefly reclaimed the lead in the eighth, but Illinois College responded with its biggest inning of the day. Klawitter tied the game with an RBI single, Alex Loman followed with a go-ahead hit, and Nathan Walker added another RBI knock before Nicholas Muskopf capped the rally with a two-run single to put the Blueboys comfortably in front.

Mills led the offensive attack, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs. Nolan Decker added three hits, while Klawitter finished with two hits and two RBIs. Illinois College pounded out 17 hits in the win.

On the mound, Wade Sabo delivered 3.2 scoreless innings in relief to steady the game, and Connor Akstulewicz tossed the final two innings to earn the win.

Game Two - Grinnell 9 Illinois College 8 (10 innings)
In the winner's bracket game, Illinois College battled back multiple times but came up just short in 10 innings against Grinnell.

The Blueboys fell behind 1-0 early before taking control with a three-run fourth inning. Logan Fleener tripled home a run, Tyler Grzela added an RBI single, and Barker followed with another run-scoring hit to give Illinois College a 4-1 advantage.

Grinnell answered immediately with a four-run fourth, highlighted by a three-run triple, then added a two-run homer in the fifth to build a 7-5 lead.

Illinois College kept fighting as Ketch Mills delivered an RBI double in the sixth to cut the deficit to one, and after Grinnell added a run in the eighth, the Blueboys mounted late heroics in the ninth. Nicholas Muskopf opened the inning with a game-tying spark, launching a solo home run, and Grzela followed later in the frame with an RBI double to knot the game at 8-8.

Grinnell ultimately walked it off in the 10th inning to hand Illinois College its first loss of the tournament.

Grzela finished with three RBIs, while Walker and Mills each collected two hits. Muskopf and Fleener also drove in runs as Illinois College continued its strong offensive showing.

Up Next
The Blueboys will be back in action tomorrow morning at 9:00am back at Grinnell College for an elimination game against either Monmouth or Beloit College for a chance at a rematch against Grinnell College.