The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team returns home this weekend as they welcome Upper Iowa to Springfield for the first time ever. The Prairie Stars take on the Peacocks in a four-game series beginning on Friday at 1:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12:00 p.m., and will finish with a lone Sunday game scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
UIS (20-17, 11-13)
The Prairie Stars are coming off a tough series against a resurgent Drury team. DU took the series three games to one as they stay near the top of the conference standings. UIS is currently in a three-way tie for eighth place in the GLVC standings. Game One was a battle as Drury would build a lead and UIS would come back on multiple occasions. The Prairie Stars would once again tie the contest in the top of the eighth inning at 6-6. In the bottom half of the eighth, Drury loaded the bases and hit what would be a game-winning grand slam to win 10-6. In Game Two, UIS got offensive contributions from different players as five Prairie Stars were credited with an RBI. Jacob Newman produced a quality start and earned the win, 6-3, which included some early runs from the offense. Game Three started in wild fashion as the Stars raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning. Drury would eventually take a lead in the fourth inning after a four-run third and a three-run fourth. UIS threatened in the seventh with two runners on, but a strikeout ended the game which saw the Panthers take the 8-7 win. The series finale was all Drury from the beginning, as the Panthers plated five runs in the first two innings. Mack Clark hit a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the lead to 5-2. DU responded in the fifth with 10 runs. The Panthers took Game Four 15-3 and the series with the win.
The Prairie Stars are 12-7 in games at the UIS Baseball Field this year. As a team, the Prairie Stars have a .325 batting average and have scored 308 runs. Six different Stars have an average of .300 or above. Mark Kattula (.412) is fourth in the GLVC for batting average. The UIS pitching staff currently holds a 7.89 ERA while allowing 248 earned runs. Opponents have a .315 batting average against the UIS pitchers. The Prairie Star defense has a GLVC-leading .977 fielding percentage with only 27 errors.
Upper Iowa (8-27, 5-19)
The Peacocks endured a tough series at home last weekend against Lewis as they were swept. UIU is currently on an eight game losing streak, their last win coming on March 30. Upper Iowa gave up 56 runs this past weekend to Lewis. Game One was all Lewis as the Flyers jumped out to an early lead and poured it on for a 13-1 win. In Game Two the Peacocks used a seven-run first inning to take an early lead. The Flyers responded over the next three innings to take the lead back. The later innings produced very few runs as Lewis won 13-7. In Game Three the Flyers were once again able to score runs in spurts as they jumped out to another big lead. UIU trimmed the Lewis lead down in the seventh, but it wasn't enough as LU won 10-5. In the series finale the Peacocks held a lead heading into the seventh inning, but Lewis erupted for 15 runs in the final three innings to earn a 20-7 win.
The Peacocks are 7-16 on the road this season. Upper Iowa is hitting .263 as a team and have scored 173 runs. Ethan Sawyer (.356) and Gunner Wicklund (.315) are the Peacock's top two hitters. UIU's pitching staff currently has a 9.08 ERA while allowing 271 earned runs. Opponents have a .327 batting average against UIU pitchers. The Peacock defense has 48 errors on the season, holding a .958 fielding percentage.
How to Follow
Every conference game of the 2024 season will be streamed on GLVCSN and will have live stats that you can follow. Both the stream and live stats link can be found in the Baseball section on the UIS Athletics website.