Quincy, Ill. - The Illinois Central College baseball team (19-25, 14-10) made the trek southwest to take on the John Wood Blazers in the final two games of their MWAC series. The Cougars fell behind in the first game and were unable to make a comeback, falling at a 5-1 clip. Meanwhile, ICC had powered ahead with a big first inning, but the Blazers would limit them to one run the rest of the way, on route to a 14-6 game two win. 

GAME 1 | JOHN WOOD 5, ICC COUGARS 1
The Cougars chipped away to start, getting a base runner in each of the first two innings, just unable to turn them into runs. With John Wood ahead 4-0 after two, the Cougars would answer, getting a leadoff walk from Ashton Horchem, and Luke Doty bringing him around two batters later on a first-pitch RBI single. 

John Wood would expand their lead on an RBI walk in the fourth, making it a 5-1 score. 

ICC got close to the scoreboard again in the sixth, getting a Doty double and Bryce Bishop single consecutively to start the inning, but the next three would be retired to prevent any damage from happening. 

The Cougar defense was doing there best to keep the score where it was, with Noah Campbell, Nick Piazza, and Kyle Mack all teaming up for an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the sixth. Alas, ICC would go 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to complete the 5-1 win for the Blazers. 

COUGAR HITTING
Luke Doty | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI
Bryce Bishop | 1 single, 1 stolen base
Tyler Bishop | 1 single, 1 stolen base
Ashton Horchem | 1 walk, 1 stolen base

COUGAR PITCHING
Gage Burdick | 5 innings, 4 hits, 5 earned runs, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Broker Bailey | 1 inning, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts

GAME 2 | JOHN WOOD 14, ICC COUGARS 6
Game two got off to a terrific start. Luke Doty (walk) and Riley McCallister (hit by pitch) reached back-to-back to start the game. Kyle Mack followed with an RBI groundout to take a 1-0 lead on the game's first out. Plate discipline prevailed, with Blake Norton, Noah Campbell, and Kannon Kleine combining to have drawn three straight walks, with Kleine's being of the RBI variety. After a brief pit stop with a strikeout, the Cougar barrage returned, with Ashton Horchem getting an RBI hit by pitch, and a two-run single by Nick Piazza to take a commanding 5-0 lead. 

Unfortunately, that lead would not last. An RBI single and fielder's choice for the Blazers made it a three-run game. A John Wood RBI groundout in the second cut it to 5-3. Griffin Roesch would single and Horchem would walk, but both would be stranded in the third. In the bottom of the third, the Blazers led off with a first-pitch home run. A double, hit by pitch, RBI groundout, and RBI single gave John Wood a 6-5 lead in the third. Perhaps not known in that moment, but it would be a lead they would not relinquish. 

ICC's defense turned their second double play of the day, with Roesch, Piazza, and Mack teaming up for the first and second outs of the fourth inning. 

The Cougars had their next-best chance in the fifth with a Kleine RBI double, plus Roesch singling, putting runners on the corners with one out. A double play followed, though, and kept the game at a 6-6 tie. 

The game's 'dagger inning' would come in the bottom of the sixth, when the Blazers, on successive plate appearances, got a double, walk, hit by pitch, RBI single, RBI single, two-run single, and an RBI sacrifice fly. That took a tied game to an 11-6 John Wood lead after six. 

In the seventh inning, the Cougars had a Norton single and Kleine walk to try and make one last push at it, but both would be stranded. 

John Wood would tack on three more in the bottom of the seventh by way of two separate errors, setting the 14-6 final score. 

COUGAR HITTING
Luke Doty | 1 walk
Riley McCallister | 1 single, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch
Kyle Mack | 1 RBI
Blake Norton | 1 single, 1 walk, 1 stolen base
Noah Campbell | 1 double, 1 walk
Kannon Kleine | 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 walks
Griffin Roesch | 2 singles
Ashton Horchem | 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch
Nick Piazza | 1 single, 2 RBI

COUGAR PITCHING
Cole Thomas | 2 innings, 5 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Chase Martin | 3.1 innings, 6 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Ian McGhiey | 0.2 innings, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
Caleb Diver | 1 batter faced, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Rock Valley Golden Eagles
Wednesday, April 24th - 3:00 PM
At RVC Baseball Field - Rockford, Ill.