East Peoria, Ill.----After a thrilling time with MLB Hall-of-Famer Jim Thome in the dugout after his official field dedication on Wednesday night, the Cougar baseball team hosted Carl Sandburg in a 14-inning scrimmage on a sunny Saturday.  Head coach Brett Kelley shuffled the lineup and gave lots of players chances to get repetitions and experience.  Individual highlights appear below:

Ben Nofsinger 2-4 3 RBI
Evan Pogioli 2-3 HR, double
Brody Reed 1-3, 2 runs
Garrett Peterson 1 IP, 2 K
Noah Funk 3-5, double
Travis Lutz 2-4, double
Kaleb Gauf 2-2, 2 RBI
Brady Grashoff 2-3, double, triple, 4 RBI
Jared Michael 3 IP, 1 run, 1 hit, 3 K
Conor Whittaker 2 IP 0 run, 2 K
Ben Monge 1 IP, 2 K

Next up: Sunday, September 26 vs Heartland at 4pm at the M-WAC Showcase at the Corn Crib, Normal, IL.