Cottage Hills, Ill. - After the four-game home series against Vincennes, ICC baseball (10-14, 4-2) was right back on the road for another MWAC series, this time battling the Lewis & Clark Trailblazers from Lloyd Hopkins Field. A 8-2 lead was lost in the opener, before an early 6-0 deficit was unable to be erased in the finale.

GAME 1 - LEWIS & CLARK 11, ICC COUGARS 8
A Riley McCallister walk, Matt Evans hit by pitch, and Luke Doty single loaded the bases in the top of the third inning. A runner picked off and a pop out nearly snuffed an early opportunity at the scoreboard, but a Josh Heyder walk brought in Evans and put the Cougars ahead 1-0. The Trailblazers were ready, responding with a two-run inning of their own to go up 2-1.

It would be the top of the fourth that saw ICC's bats explode. After a lineout led off the frame, eight consecutive batters reached. Granted, it didn't exactly start in the most conventional sense - a passed ball and a fielding error. The 'natural' scoring came on the strength of a three-run double from Beau Durbin, and on the next plate appearance, a two-run home run from Josh Heyder. The Cougars were in control, leading 8-2 after four. Through the bottom of the sixth, and outside of the early one-run inning by the Trailblazers, Nick Hainline hadn't had more than four plate appearances in an inning.

Hainline departed after that sixth inning. Lewis & Clark shut out ICC in the seventh and eighth innings, 9-0. That 8-2 lead turned into the 11-8 final score. In the eighth, the Trailblazers' first six batters reached. The four hits in that frame were all singles. The five-run bottom of the seventh saw one lone hit - an RBI double. 

Alas, the Cougars just about made a late push at it. Jackson Powell led the inning off with a walk. Kaleb Gauf would be hit by a pitch. That put the game-tying run at the plate. The hosts, however, shut the door with a strikeout and groundout to set the final score and complete the comeback. 

Hitting:
Riley McCallister | 2 hits, 1 walk
Luke Doty | 2 hits
Beau Durbin | 1 hit, 3 RBI
Josh Heyder | 1 home run, 3 RBI, 1 walk
Matt Evans | 1 RBI

Pitching:
Nick Hainline | 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
Aidan Leemans | 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
Gavin Thompson | 1.1 IP, 2 BB, 1 SO

GAME 2 - LEWIS & CLARK 6, ICC COUGARS 4
The second game was a much different story. Perhaps the Trailblazer bats carried over from their late surge in game one. Maybe not just perhaps, as it was a six-run onslaught promptly in the bottom of the first. 

Now, while there were ultimately 10 runs scored in this game, the offensive output was not exactly spread out. The Cougars would unfurl three runs in the top of the third, with Beau Durbin lining a single to score both Matt Evans and Luke Doty. A Jackson Powell RBI sacrifice fly pulled ICC within three at 6-3. 

After a couple of scoreless frames, the Cougars made some noise in the sixth. Camden Porter and Kaleb Gauf drew leadoff walks that were eventually capitalized on when Evans collected an sac fly of his own to score Porter and get within a mere two runs. However, ICC was only able to get two base runners the rest of the way, on route to the 6-4 loss. 

Hitting:
Beau Durbin | 1 hit, 2 RBI, 1 walk
Matt Evans | 1 RBI, 1 walk
Camden Porter | 1 hit, 1 walk
Luke Doty | 2 hits
Jackson Powell | 1 RBI

Pitching:
Kaiser Quick | 0.1 IP
Kaiden Rixner | 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 SO

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Lewis & Clark Trailblazers
Monday, April 3rd - 3 & 6 PM
@ Thome Field - East Peoria, Ill.
Live Stats (GAME 1)
Live Stats (GAME 2)