Knox Baseball Defeats Eureka in Non-conference Action

By: Clark Shanahan GALESBURG, Illinois - The Knox Prairie Fire baseball team beat the Eureka College Red Devils in a slugfest this Tuesday afternoon at Blodgett Field, winning 12-11 in dramatic fashion. The win brings their record to 5-12 on the season after a three game winning streak. The Prairie Fire took a few innings to get comfortable facing Eureka, as the Red Devils took an early 2-0 lead on the back of some powerful hitting. Knox came back in the bottom of the second inning to drive in an impressive six runs and regain the lead. After Cole Shepherd and EJ Roncone used their patience to walk home runs, a Chris McTeague grand slam put an emphatic point on the inning. McTeague had a fantastic day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a walk, four RBIs, and 2 runs while giving the team plenty of spirit throughout the game. Unfortunately, the Red Devils put some charge into the ball offensively the next few innings, storming back to take a 10-6 in the sixth inning. Elijah McPherson hit a rocket for his first home run of the year in the bottom of the inning, a three run shot that put the Prairie Fire within one run of Eureka. While the Red Devils scored another run in the seventh, Troy Brandt tied the game at 11 runs apiece with a pinch hit home run of his own. With the game looking like it would go into extra innings, Chase Thies played the hero by hitting a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Knox the late lead. Saverio Scumaci walked the tightrope in the 9th to shut the game down and earn the win for the Prairie Fire. "This was a great example of the fight we have been showing for the last few weeks now," said associate head coach James Clark. "We got down a few times throughout the game, but we had a bunch of different guys step up and get the job done."