East Peoria, Ill. - On a nice early spring afternoon at Thome Field, the Illinois Central College baseball team (6-11, 2-0) was playing host to the Danville Area Jaguars (5-14, 0-2) in the MWAC conference opener for both squads. It wasn't for a lack of offense in the end, as the Cougars powered their way to 22 combined runs and 26 combined hits to take both games of the home half of the series with the Jaguars. 

GAME 1 | ICC COUGARS 9, DANVILLE AREA 3
It was a hit parade for the Cougars in the opening game. Now, that being said, it didn't exactly present itself in a quick fashion. ICC did lead 2-0 after three innings on the strength on a Bryce Bishop solo home run and Kyle Mack RBI single, scoring Nick Piazza (leadoff/first pitch single). The Jaguars, meanwhile, countered with three unanswered runs to take a 3-2 lead on the Cougars through six and a half.

Ah yes, that hit parade. Fortune, more often than not in baseball/softball, favors the leadoff baserunner. Well, the Cougars got a leadoff single from Mack, walk from Jacob Castleman, and single from Kannon Kleine to load the bases with still nobody out. That set the table to Tyler Bishop, who lined a single into center field and scored both Mack and Castleman for a 4-3 lead swing. The three-run inning wrapped when Piazza got an RBI single to score Kleine and just like that - ICC led 5-3 going to the eighth inning. 

Chase Martin locked things down on the mound in the eighth, limiting the Jaguars to a 1-2-3 inning. That set up what would be another barrage in the eighth. After Bryce Bishop (single) and Mack (walk) had reached, Kleine lined a double that scored Bryce Bishop. Tyler Bishop was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Noah Campbell, who after taking a pair of pitches and fouling one off, would line a single into center field, scoring both Mack and Kleine and swelling the lead to 8-3. Piazza would add one more on an RBI single to score Tyler Bishop and cap the offense for the game. 

Martin continued to hold down the pitching, holding the Jaguars scoreless in the ninth to secure the win.

HITTING STATS
Luke Doty (CF) | 1 walk
Bryce Bishop (RF) | 3 singles, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Kyle Mack (DH) | 2 singles, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Jacob Castleman (3B) | 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch
Kannon Kleine (C) | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI
Tyler Bishop (1B) | 1 single, 2 RBI, 1 hit by pitch
Noah Campbell (SS) | 1 single, 1 double, 2 RBI, 1 walk, 1 stolen base
Nick Piazza (2B) | 3 singles, 2 RBI, 1 stolen base

PITCHING STATS
Gus Lucas (W) | 7 IP, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Chase Martin (S) | 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

GAME 2 | ICC COUGARS 13, DANVILLE AREA 12
To ensure game two is not sold short, it was wild. The Cougars were seemingly cruising through four innings, but a massive fifth inning nearly, and temporarily did, lose the commanding lead, all before ICC tacked on a couple runs to ensure the lead would return to their favor. 

Danville Area hit the scoreboard first (1-0 mid 1), but the Cougars drew a Luke Doty double, Noah Campbell walk, and Bryce Bishop walk to load the bases. Kyle Mack walked as well (RBI) to tie it up at one. Two outs followed, though. Rest assured, the offense had more to say before the inning ended, with Tyler Bishop reaching on an error that would also score Campbell and Tyler Hansen singling one into right field and scoring Bryce Bishop and Mack for a 4-1 lead. 

The Cougars continued to show plate discipline with a couple walks from Mack and Bryce Bishop, plus a single from Campbell to load the bases again. This time, it was the bat of Jacob Castleman that launched a grand slam over the right field fence, exploding the lead to an 8-2 margin. 

The key to the lead being able to expand also runs credit through Gage Burdick on the mound, who had a couple scoreless innings to keep Danville's bats from affecting the game too much. Luke Doty would add a first-pitch solo shot to go up 9-2 in the third. The power continued to show itself with Mack sending one out over the left field fence to score Bryce Bishop, who'd reached on a leadoff walk. It was 11-2 Cougars in the fourth inning. 

Until it wasn't. In the very next half inning, the Jaguars got an RBI double, RBI single, RBI single, two-run double, RBI hit by pitch, RBI walk, wild pitch, and RBI groundout to go from down 11-2 to tying the game up at 11-11 after four and a half. After the Cougars were held scoreless in their half of the fifth, Danville Area jumped on the opportunity and scored another run on an error to take a 12-11 lead, making it 10 unanswered runs. 

Credit also goes to the Cougars offense. As much as they'd produced to that point of the game, they weren't about to go down without a fight, as perhaps non-helpful a lost lead like that one can be. Cougar fans would go home happen when Tyler Hansen lined an RBI single and Luke Doty singled and Tyler Bishop scored on a throw to alleviate the stress and go home with a 13-12 winner. Ian McGhiey shut the door in the seventh with a scoreless frame to ensure this time, the lead would be safe. 

HITTING STATS
Luke Doty (CF) | 1 single, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 RBI
Noah Campbell (SS) | 1 single, 1 double, 1 walk
Bryce Bishop (RF) | 3 walks, 1 stolen base
Kyle Mack (1B) | 1 home run, 3 RBI, 3 walks
Jacob Castleman (3B) | 1 single, 1 home run, 4 RBI
Kannon Kleine (C) | 1 walk
Tyler Bishop (DH) | 1 single
Tyler Hansen (LF) | 2 singles, 3 RBI, 1 walk

PITCHING STATS
Gage Burdick | 4.1 IP, 9 SO
Kyle Miller | 4 batters faced
Blake Norton | 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
Caleb Diver (W) | 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 SO
Ian McGhiey (S) | 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Danville Area Jaguars (5-14, 0-2)
Monday, March 11th - 1:00 / 4:00 PM
Danville Stadium - Danville, Illinois
Live Stats (GameChanger)