Canton, Ill. - After a shutout sweep yesterday, ICC baseball (18-25, 12-12) went right back to work on Saturday to complete their MWAC series with Spoon River. As impressive as yesterday's combined 11 runs seemed on the surface, the Cougars would find a way to make that look light. By the end of the day, the Cougars would pour on 28 runs and 29 hits on their way to a sweep of the day by scores of 16-8 and 12-10.
GAME 1 - ICC COUGARS 16, SPOON RIVER 8
The first game of the day certainly had an interesting start.
Beau Durbin had a sacrifice fly to score
Luke Doty and give ICC a 1-0 lead after half an inning. From there, the host Snappers scored seven runs unanswered, including a six-run bottom of the second.
Trailing 7-1 wouldn't breed much optimism, but the Cougars didn't seem to care. After all, that score was reached with five innings of baseball still left. ICC brought out the long ball in the third, with
Camden Porter and
Kaleb Gauf both launching solo home runs to pull within 7-3.
What ensued was ultimately the Cougars' biggest offensive inning of the day. Durbin (RBI double), Gauf (2-run double),
Hunter Thornton (RBI single),
Matt Evans (sacrifice fly), and
Riley McCallister (2-run single) were all in on the onslaught that turned the four-run deficit into a 10-7 lead which they would never surrender.
One last run for the Snappers would score on a passed ball to make it a two-run game. Alas, ICC had one last big offensive surge in them for the game, pouring on six runs in the sixth. McCallister (three-run home run) and Porter (RBI double) were the run-scoring hits among that inning which set the 16-8 final score.
Hitting:
Camden Porter | 4 H, 2 RBI
Kaleb Gauf | 2 H, 3 RBI
Hunter Thornton | 2 H, 2 RBI
Eli Boeye | 2 H
Riley McCallister | 2 H, 5 RBI
Beau Durbin | 1 H, 2 RBI
Matt Evans | 1 H, 1 RBI
Pitching:
Carson Johnson | 1.2 IP, 2 BB, 1 SO
Kaiden Rixner | 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Cole Thomas | 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Gavin Thompson | 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
GAME 2 - ICC COUGARS 12, SPOON RIVER 10
Come to find out, the offense practically didn't drop off at all from game one to game two. In fact, the offense got started even earlier this go-around.
Luke Doty and
Tyler Hansen both sent two-run home runs over the fence for an early 4-0 lead.
Beau Durbin added another for three long-balls and a 5-0 lead after two.
But wait - there's more.
Zach Otten joined the home run party with a solo shot in the fourth. That had ICC up 6-1 in the fourth. Now, a three-run home run from the Snappers cut the lead to just two runs.
The Cougar bats were simply on another level.
Riley McCallister continued his stellar RBI day with a double, and would come around to score on a wild pitch to be doubling up Spoon River at 8-4.
After a two-run home run by the Snappers sent the game right back to two runs apart, ICC continued to add on, with a Durbin double and Gauf home run putting ICC ahead 12-6. The four-run seventh would be the last of the Cougar offense for the day.
Although the Snappers were held scoreless through the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, they nearly completed a six-run comeback. A pair of RBI singles made it a 12-9 game. Add a run-scoring fielder's choice, and it would get to 12-10. The fielder's choice was the second out of the inning, and was promptly followed by a game-ending unassisted groundout to Gauf to complete the 4-0 series sweep.
Hitting:
Beau Durbin | 3 hits, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Zach Otten | 2 H, 1 RBI
Luke Doty | 2 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Tyler Hansen | 2 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Kaleb Gauf | 1 H, 3 RBI, 2 BB
Jackson Powell | 1 H, 2 BB
Hunter Thornton | 1 H, 1 BB
Riley McCallister | 1 H, 1 RBI
Pitching:
Jake Jacek | 4 IP, 6 SO
Ian McGhiey | 3 IP, 2 H, 2 SO
Kannon Kelly | 1.1 IP, 1 SO
Cole Thomas | 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
The Cougars continue their road trip, but take a brief break from MWAC play to battle a familiar foe. ICC heads up to the Bill Hungate Complex in Galesburg to face off with Carl Sandburg for the second time this season. On March 22nd, the Cougars won a close 3-2 game.
