Carterville, Ill. - A Friday series finale was on tap for ICC baseball (4-12), as the Cougars went up for a third time against the 20th-ranked Kankakee Cavaliers. It was another game in which the Cavaliers got ahead early, and a late comeback effort was made, but said comeback just wasn't enough in a 7-5 loss for ICC. 

Kankakee took as much as a 3-0 lead after three innings when a two-run single set that score. 

It wasn't for long until ICC made a push. A pair of walks set up Jackson Powell to be able to score on an error for the Cougars' first run of the game. ICC inched ever so closer on an RBI single from Beau Durbin in the fifth, scoring Zach Otten. Josh Heyder continued his powerful start to the year with a team-leading fourth home run, scoring Durbin and giving ICC a 4-3 lead after five. 

The teams would then trade runs, including a Matt Evans RBI double to score Kaleb Gauf and put the Cougars back in front 5-4. 

Ultimately, it would be Kankakee that shut the door. From ICC's 5-4 lead, the Cavaliers marched off three unanswered runs, two in the sixth and one in the seventh, setting up the 7-5 final score. 

ICC welcomes fans to Thome Field for the first time in 2023, as the Cougars host Lake Land next Thursday for the home opener. 

Hitting Leaders:
Beau Durbin | 2 hits, 1 RBI
Matt Evans | 2 hits, 1 RBI
Josh Heyder | 1 hit, 2 RBI

Pitching Leaders:
Carson Johnson | 4 innings, 4 strikeouts
Gage Burdick | 2 innings, 1 hit, 3 strikeouts
Kannon Kelly | 1 inning, 0 earned runs, 1 strikeout
Kaiden Rixner | 1 inning, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 1 strikeout

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Lake Land Lakers (7-9)
Thursday, March 16th - 4:00 PM First Pitch
@ Thome Fields - East Peoria, Ill.
LIVE STATS (GameChanger)