Jacksonville, IL – The Prairie Fire scored a run in the eighth inning to snap a tie and defeat MacMurray College 2-1 in the season opener for both squads on Thursday.
Knox (1-0) got on the board quickly, scoring with two outs in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. Junior Jackson White (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Central) walked and came around to score on a hit by senior Caleb Weaver (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg).
Sophomore Nathaniel Grady (Antelope, CA, Oakmont) got the starting nod on the mound for the Prairie Fire. He shut the Highlanders out in his three innings of work, allowing three hits and striking out four.
MacMurray (0-1) tied the game at 1-1 in the home half of the fourth inning with a run scoring single off junior Peter Marquardt (Clarendon Hills, lL, Hinsdale Central), who struck out two in one inning pitched.
The Highlanders stranded two runners in the sixth against junior hurler Paul Mills (Moline, IL, Moline) and one in the seventh inning with first-year Mitch Weissenhofer (Homewood, IL, Marian Catholic) on the mound.
The Prairie Fire scored the deciding run in the eighth inning against MC reliever A.J. Webb.
White led off with a single. Weaver then reached on a costly error by the MacMurray third baseman. Junior Erik Smoy (Hoffman Estates, IL, Hoffman Estates) sacrificed White to third and Weaver to second with just one out. Senior Ryan Hoffman (Sugar Grove, IL, Marmion Academy) drove in White with a ground ball to second base and the Knox bullpen took care of the rest.
Senior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL, Farmington) tossed a scoreless eighth inning while striking out one for a hold. Junior Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) set the Highlanders down in order in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
Weissenhofer (1-0) was the winning pitcher in his first college baseball game. He allowed a two out double before retiring the next hitter on a pop up to end any sort of threat by the Highlanders.
White got on base all four times he stepped up to the plate. He was 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored to lead the Prairie Fire on offense. Weaver added two hits and an RBI and senior Kyle Walenga (San Francisco, CA, Waldorf) singled in the game for Knox.
MacMurray College matched the Prairie Fire with six hits. Knox pitchers stranded 10 Highlander base runners and recorded 10 strikeouts on the afternoon.