The Illinois Springfield baseball team opened its conference slate with a comeback win, defeating Lewis 8-7 on Friday at the UIS Baseball Field. The Prairie Stars overcame an early five-run deficit, scoring eight runs in the middle innings to secure the victory.

Game Recap

• Lewis jumped ahead with a four-run second inning, highlighted by a grand slam from Michael Kocen to take a 5-0 lead. 
• UIS responded in the third when Michael Paule put the Prairie Stars on the board with an RBI single. Ty Hollandsworth followed with another RBI single before Drew Ezard launched a three-run homer to left field, tying the game at 5-5.
• After the Flyers regained the lead in the fourth, UIS struck again. A two-run double from Mark Kattula put the Prairie Stars ahead 7-6, and Paule added another RBI single to extend the lead.
• UIS held on from there, with Adam Wibbenmeyer picking up the win in relief and Seth Masters earning the save. Wibbenmeyer allowed one run over 3.2 innings, while Masters struck out four in two scoreless frames to close the game.
• Kattula went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Paule and Ezard added a combined five RBIs, delivering the key hits that helped UIS secure the win.

Up Next
UIS (6-5) will continue its series against Lewis (5-4) with a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon.