Parkside baseball had a tough task going on the road against No. 3 Illinois Springfield on Tuesday, but the Rangers came away with a big split against the Prairie Stars after taking game one 7-3 but falling in game two 14-3. UIS is now 11-1-2 while the Rangers improved to 3-8. Two weekends ago, Parkside also took down a nationally-ranked opponent in No. 13 Southern Indiana.
GAME 1: Parkside 7, #3 Illinois Springfield 3
Justin Bennett's go-ahead grand slam in the top of the sixth inning was the deciding factor in this one, as the Rangers took down UIS to open the day with their second straight win against teams ranked in the top-25. Peyton Schneider pitched a 7.0 inning complete game, allowing the three runs with eight strikeouts to make this the Prairie Stars second lowest offensive game of the year. UIS has scored 10+ runs in nine games this season after Tuesday.
What Happened
Parkside took the early advantage, going up 1-0 in the top of the second on a Bennett RBI single that scored Hunter Weddel, who doubled and stole third.
UIS came back to grab the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth after four scoreless innings with Schneider on the mound. Parkside responded immediately, putting up five runs in the top of the sixth to make it 6-3 Parkside. In the inning, Casey Oliver singled and came in to score on Domenic Esposito's RBI single to center field. Back-to-back walks helped load the bases for Bennett, who drilled the Rangers' first grand slam of the season to make it 6-3. Parkside added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a Weddel sacrifice fly that scored Oliver, making it 7-3.
GAME 2: #3 UIS 14, Parkside 3
The home Prairie Stars bounced back in game two, using a few big innings and good pitching to keep the Rangers from earning the sweep. It was a sloppy game two, as both teams combined for 10 errors.
What Happened
After it went scoreless for 2.5 innings, UIS scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead. Parkside answered with a run in the top of fourth thanks to an Esposito sacrifice fly, making it 2-1 UIS.
UIS then scored six unanswered runs, with four in the fourth and two in the sixth to pull out to an 8-1 lead. Parkside made it 8-3 with two runs in the top of the seventh thanks to back-to-back UIS errors that scored Shawn Rigsby and Lane Ochs. The Prairie Stars finished the game out with five runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Schneider's final line read 7.0 innings, six hits, three runs, two walks with eight strikeouts. He earned his second win of the season to move to 2-2.
Who Led the Way
In both games combined, Bennett 4-for-7 with a home run and six RBI while Weddel went 1-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI. Esposito added a pair of RBI's.
In game two, Nicolas Rana was tagged with the loss, going 5.1 innings allowing eight runs (five earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts.
Parkside outhit UIS 7-6 in the first game, but UIS came back to win that battle 14-3 in the second game.
What's Next
The Rangers will finish out the midweek action with the third game of the series on Wednesday, March 13 at 10 a.m.
