The UIS baseball team (22-8, 11-2) fell to Truman State (9-21, 3-14) with a final score of 9-6 on Thursday. Johnny Wendling and Kody Morton combined for four RBIs, although it was not enough to overcome Truman's early lead.

Corey Boyette scored the first run for the Prairie Stars on a sacrifice fly by Wendling in the first inning. The team led 1-0 after the opening frame. Truman State tied the game in the second inning when Joey Fentress scored on a wild pitch.

In the third inning, Truman took a 4-1 lead. The scoring started with a two-RBI double, then a sacrifice groundout brought in another run. During the inning, UIS turned to Zane Danielson in relief of starter Ben Benoit. Danielson struck out two of the three batters he faced in the third, with the only run scoring on a sac hit.

Truman extended its lead to 6-1 in the fourth, with production stemming from two doubles and a single.

UIS responded in the fifth inning, scoring three runs to reduce the deficit to 6-4. Parker Heistand and Chris Suchoski both singled, and Boyette's double brought in a run. Kody Morton added an RBI single, and Wendling's sacrifice fly scored another.

UIS applied pressure again in the sixth but came up empty. Truman would add their final three runs in the bottom of the inning.

In the ninth inning, UIS added two runs with a double by Kaden Griffitts, scoring Wendling and Boyette. Despite rallying late, the Prairie Stars fell short with a final score of 9-6 in favor of Truman.

Corey Boyette led UIS with three runs and two hits, including a double. Johnny Wendling drove in two runs on sacrifice flies, while Kaden Griffitts added two hits and two RBIs.

Ben Benoit started for UIS, pitching two innings and allowing four earned runs. Zane Danielson relieved Benoit, throwing 3 1/3 innings and giving up three earned runs on three hits while striking out four batters. Brayden Mayer followed, recording 2/3 of an inning with two runs on two hits. Quinn Hoftender tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit, striking out one and walking two. Jacob McPherson closed, striking out the final batter.

UIS has a record of 22-8 and holds an 11-2 mark in conference play. Truman stands at 9-21 overall with a 3-14 record in the conference.

Up Next
The series continues on Friday with first pitch of the doubleheader set for 1:00 p.m.