Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire and Cornell College split their second baseball doubleheader in the past two days on Sunday at Blodgett Field.
The Rams won the first game 14-6, overcoming a 6-4 Knox lead after seven innings with three runs in the top of the eighth, followed by a seven-run outburst in the ninth.
Two of Cornell's 15 hits were home runs. The Prairie Fire had nine hits in the opener.
Junior relief pitcher Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) had his first rough outing of the season and took the loss, dropping his record to 2-1. He gave up eight earned runs, seven hits, and a pair of walks in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Senior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) led the Prairie Fire offense with two hits and two RBIs.
Knox rebounded to defeat the Rams 6-3 in the finale behind a complete game by senior starting pitcher Ryan Stoens (Bartonville, IL, Limestone). The complete game is the first for Knox since the 2011 season when Colin Davis went the distance at home against Illinois College in the last game of the year.
The Prairie Fire led 1-0 after plating a run in the first inning. Cornell (7-12, 2-2 MWC South) countered with a run in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 1-1 before first-year Blake Newberg (Moline, IL, Rock Island Alleman) smacked his first homer, a two-run shot, in the Knox fourth for a 3-1 lead.
The Rams knotted the game at 3-3 on a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Weaver belted a solo homer, his second of the season, in the bottom half of the frame as the Prairie Fire (12-7, 5-3 MWC South) reclaimed the lead at 4-3.
Stoens shut down the potent Cornell offense the rest of the way while Weaver and junior Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, IL, Hoffman Estates) each had RBI singles for a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning.
Stoens (1-1) allowed eight hits, struck out six, and walked nobody over nine innings to earn his first win of the season.
Weaver continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-5 at the plate. Smoy and Newberg each contributed two hits and two runs batted in for the hosts.
Knox remains tied for first place in the MWC South with Illinois College.
The Blueboys split their second doubleheader in two days against Grinnell College. IC pitcher Nate Jones (2-3) no-hit the Pioneers in a 3-0 game one victory. Grinnell prevented the sweep by winning the nightcap 10-4.