The Illinois Springfield baseball team split its home-opening doubleheader against Northwood on Sunday, rallying for a thrilling 12-11 walk-off win in extra innings in the first game before falling 10-3 in the second. The Prairie Stars moved to 3-3 on the season, while Northwood picked up its first win to improve to 1-5.
GAME ONE | W, 12-11 in 10 innings
- In a high-scoring affair, UIS battled back from multiple deficits to edge Northwood 12-11 in 10 innings. The Prairie Stars trailed 9-5 in the fifth before launching a late comeback, capped by an RBI double from Ethan Bowers in the 10th to secure the victory.
- Northwood took an early lead with a three-run homer in the first and extended the margin to 6-2 after three innings.
- UIS responded with a power surge, as Ivan Dahlberg, Ty Hollandsworth, and Drew Ezard each homered in consecutive innings to chip away at the deficit. Hollandsworth's second blast of the game, a two-run shot in the ninth, tied the score at 11-11 and forced extra innings.
- Mark Kattula singled in the 10th before pinch runner Nicholas Crowe scored on a Bowers double, giving UIS the walk-off win.
- Northwood collected 16 hits, including two home runs, but UIS held the Timberwolves scoreless over the final three innings. Reliever Adam Wibbenmeyer earned the win with three dominant shutout frames.
- Hollandsworth: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
- Dahlberg: 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
- Clark: 3-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI
- Blemler: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Wibbenmeyer (W, 1-0): 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
- The Prairie Stars couldn't replicate their late-game magic in the second contest, as defensive struggles and timely Northwood hits led to a 10-3 defeat in seven innings.
- The Timberwolves took advantage of UIS errors to score three unearned runs in the second inning. They added two more in the fifth behind an RBI double and a groundout.
- UIS got on the board in the fifth with an infield RBI single from Nick Melvin, followed by another two-run homer from Hollandsworth in the sixth to make it 6-3.
- Northwood pulled away with a four-run seventh, capitalizing on defensive miscues to put the game out of reach.
- Northwood's Jake Ickes (1-1) limited UIS to one run over five innings while striking out six. UIS starter Ben Benoit fell to 0-2 with the loss.
- Hollandsworth: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
- Melvin: 1-for-3, RBI, R
- Paule: 1-for-3, R
- Benoit (L, 0-2): 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 3 K
Up Next
UIS and Northwood will conclude the series with another doubleheader on Monday, beginning at 11:00 a.m.