The Illinois Springfield baseball team hits the road for its final regular season series, visiting in-state conference foe McKendree for four games beginning Thursday. The series opens at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, followed by a Friday doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m., and a Saturday finale at 12 :00 p.m.
UIS (30-14 overall, 20-7 GLVC) sits in second place in the league standings entering the final weekend, just ahead of Maryville (20-8) and trailing Lewis (22-6). Indianapolis (18-9) is close behind, with Drury at 17-11 rounding out the top contenders. With four-game sets across the conference this weekend, the standings are still in play—especially with Indianapolis taking on Lewis in a key series that could shake up the top of the bracket.
Illinois Springfield (30-14, 20-7 GLVC)
Over the weekend, UIS won three of four in a series at Southwest Baptist, its sixth straight series win and fifth consecutive in conference play. On Tuesday, UIS dropped a narrow 10-9 decision at Davenport after a walk-off single ended a tightly contested game.
Brayden Mayer opened on the mound with 2.1 innings of one-run work. Kannon Walker followed with a solid 3.2 innings, giving up three runs in the fifth. UIS still led 5-4 at that point and extended the lead to 8-4, but Davenport rallied with six runs off the UIS bullpen. Despite the loss, the offense matched the region's top-ranked team with 13 hits, including a home run by Noah Caceres and a double from Mack Clark.
UIS was ranked seventh in the latest NCAA DII Midwest Regional Rankings on Wednesday (30-13 DII record, 28-11 in-region). Davenport, Tuesday's opponent, stands at No. 1 (33-11 DII, 32-9 in-region). Rankings include games through Sunday, April 27.
Mark Kattula continues to lead the team with a .399 batting average and .445 OBP. Ivan Dahlberg is hitting .331 and owns a .482 on-base percentage, thanks to a team-high 32 walks.
The UIS starting rotation is peaking at the right time. Mark DeCicco carries a 3.78 ERA with opponents hitting just .208 against him. Other regular starters include:
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Esteban Hernandez: 5-0 record, 5.13 ERA, 45 strikeouts in 54.1 innings
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Adam Lindsey: 3-3 record, 4.74 ERA, 38 strikeouts in 38 innings
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Ben Benoit: 3-5 record, 5.04 ERA, 44.2 innings pitched
Despite a tough overall record, McKendree has put together a few strong conference performances down the stretch, including a series sweep over William Jewell and 3-1 series wins against both Upper Iowa and Truman State. Last weekend, the Bearcats dropped three of four to Drury but kept each loss within two runs.
McKendree's offense features a balanced and productive lineup, with five everyday players batting over .300. Sage McMinn (.359 AVG, 11 HR, .482 OBP) and Javy Garcia (.308 AVG, 11 HR) provide big power, while Hunter Sherman (.357 AVG, 7 HR, 10 SB) adds speed and pop. Peyton Bittle leads the team in hits and doubles, and both Kaid Muth and Harrison Toone offer steady production and on-base ability.
Trey Cole leads the pitching staff with a 4.17 ERA over 41.0 innings and has tossed four complete games. Cody Bledsoe (7.36 ERA, 36.2 IP) and Mitchell Alba (6.04 ERA, 28.1 IP) have also logged significant innings.Follow Along
Watch the series live on the GLVC Sports Network and follow along with live stats on the UIS schedule page.