After years of trying and coming close, the Illinois-Springfield baseball team finally broke through and earned its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II national championship.
It will have to wait before claiming its first victory at the finals. The Prairie Stars came, saw and were quickly conquered, as their bats went cold in back-to-back losses to Point Loma and Rollins.
For the first time in program history, the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team will compete in the NCAA Division Two World Series. The Prairie Stars beat Quincy University in a doubleheader to punch their ticket to the Cary, North Carolina.
"Now you have a real chance to go win it all," UIS head coach Ryan Copeland said. "You really do. You're one of eight teams. A good game here. Some luck here and there and you're fighting for a national championship. It's pretty cool to say out loud."
No. 7 the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team woke up Great Lakes Valley Conference champions Monday morning and now turn their focus to the NCAA Tournament.
This year the University of Illinois Springfield softball team made each game played count. The Prairie Stars are having a remarkable season on the field, but it's because of how the team acts off the field that is leading to all of their success.
"We just knew from the fall that this was our year to shine," UIS senior pitcher Payton Long said.
The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team beat Southern Indiana 9-2 then 19-2 in Saturday's doubleheader. UIS' Colton Hale became the school's all-time wins leader.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on April 9, 2022. Read the entire article online.
It is not every day, runners complete training runs and dominate half marathons but that happened recently when Springfield’s Tyler Pence, 28, and Savannah Brannan, 23, an Edwardsville High School/University of Illinois-Springfield grad, won the overall men and women Annual Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon events.
Tyler, is highly ranked in the upcoming Boston Marathon set for Monday, April 18, and Savannah is also going to run her first race in Boston on the same day.
Some things don’t change.
Ushering wins en masse is certainly the norm for the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team — this season notwithstanding.
The Prairie Stars — ranked No. 13 in NCAA Division II by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association — head into this weekend’s road series at Quincy on a torrid 13-game winning streak.
The University of Illinois Springfield softball team split Sunday's doubleheader against No. 5 Indianapolis. In game one, UIS won 2-1. In game two, the Prairie Stars fell 9-1. UIS hosts Quincy University Saturday.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 27, 2022. Watch it here.
Last year the University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team had one its best season in program history. Head coach Casey Thousand and the Prairie Stars made it a goal to achieve even more success this season and that's exactly what they did.
No. 20 the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team hosted Saginaw Valley State in the Prairie Stars home opener Saturday.
UIS scored 14 runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Bobby Barnard led the team with four hits. Brandon Bannon recorded four RBI.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on February 26, 2022.