East Peoria, Ill. - After nearly a week away from games, the ICC baseball team (13-23, 7-11) was back in action at Thome Field on Friday afternoon to start off their MWAC series with rival Parkland. The Cougars would fall in a tight back-and-forth battle by an 8-6 final score, before the Cobras chipped away to a 5-1 win in game two.
GAME 1 - PARKLAND 8, ICC COUGARS 6
Kaleb Gauf getting hit by a pitch in the third inning would pull the Cougars within a 2-1 score in the third. That was followed by three unanswered Cobra runs to go up 5-1. While Parkland would ultimately win the game, ICC would outscore their visitors 5-3 the rest of the way.
That same half inning in the sixth that Parkland took their 5-1 lead on, the Cougars made their first of two offensive surges. A single from
Jackson Powell and an RBI double from
Matt Evans put ICC behind just 5-3.
A combination of plate discipline and power hitting got the Cougars going again in the seventh. Gauf reaching on a fielder's choice set up
Tyler Bishop, would would homer and make it just a one-run game. They weren't done yet. Walks drawn by
Matt Evans and
Riley McCallister put the game-tying run in scoring position.
Zach Otten would load the bases when he made it down to first on a dropped third strike. That opened the door for
Luke Doty to draw a fourth walk of the inning, and tie the game at 6-6.
Alas, an RBI single and RBI double would set the 8-6 final score in favor of the Cobras.
Seven different Cougars tallied hits, with
Matt Evans leading the way with his two hits. While ICC drew four walks in the seventh inning, that was just part of an eight-walk game for the Cougars.
Nick Hainline (4),
Ian McGhiey (2), and
Gavin Thompson (1) combined for a seven-strikeout effort out on the mound.
GAME 2 - PARKLAND 5, ICC COUGARS 1
The finale of the day saw the Cobras hold a slight edge in what was a pitchers duel, particuarly early on. Parkland held a slim 2-0 lead all the way through the fourth inning, with the latter of the runs coming on a solo home run. Over that same span,
Gage Burdick had struck out five of his game total nine strikeouts.
After three one-run innings by Parkland, they would tack on a pair on back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning to go ahead 5-0 at the time.
ICC was able to get a run on the board when
Zach Otten singled to score
Hunter Thornton and set the 5-1 final score.
Otten,
Kaleb Gauf, and
Tyler Hansen all had two-hit games.
Josh Heyder also drew a pair of walks.
Cole Thomas came on in relief of Burdick and struck out two batters, bringing the grand total for the game to 11.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars have a day off from games before wrapping up their series with the Cobras in doubleheader fashion on Sunday. The first pitch for the opening game is set for 12PM from Champaign.
