Quincy, IL - The Illinois Central College Baseball team (11-32, 6-16) returned to conference play on Friday by making a road trip to the John Wood Blazers for the first two games of a four-game set. John Wood would use a pair of different-looking walkoffs to sweep the series openers, walking off by run rule in the first game (16-7) before walking off in a tightly contested game two, 4-3. 

GAME ONE | JOHN WOOD 16, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 7 (8 inn.)
The Cougars nearly struck right away, with Thomas Krueger, Ryan Brucker, and Chris Casey all drawing walks, but a two-out groundout would end the inning and strand the bases loaded. John Wood would take that momentum from evading the big inning and create a big inning of their own, using an two-run double, two-run home run, and RBI single to surge ahead for a 5-0 lead after one. 

ICC would rebound and get in the run column for the first time courtesy of a first-pitch solo home run from Nate Bartman to pull within 5-1. However, in the next half inning, the Blazers would score four more times, with an error and a three-run home run making it 9-1 through two innings of play. 

Both teams were held away from the scoreboard until John Wood broke through again with a leadoff solo home run in the fifth for a 10-1 score. The Cougars, however, countered with a high-quality response inning, getting an RBI groundout from Krueger and a two-run home run from Jayden Malone to cut the margin to six with still a few innings to play. 

In the seventh, Kaiden Lucero jumped on a payoff pitch and an error in the outfield led to Kyle Binder and Elliot Seckman and making it a manageable four-run gap down the home stretch. 

Alas, another big inning from the Blazers truly pulled them away, with a solo home run and two-run triple making it 13-6 and dangerously approaching run rule margin headed to the eighth. 

After singles from Brucker and Casey put two on with one out, Jake Stewart legged out an 0-2 infield single to score Brucker and get within six runs at 13-7. 

However, John Wood had one more big inning left in them, getting a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to break run rule margin and end the game early. 

COUGAR HITTING
Kaiden Lucero | 2 singles, 1 walk, 2 stolen bases
Thomas Krueger | 1 RBI, 2 walks
Ryan Brucker | 1 single, 2 walks
Jayden Malone | 1 home run, 2 RBI, 1 hit by pitch
Chris Casey | 1 single, 1 walk
Jake Stewart | 2 single, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Kyle Binder | 2 walks
Elliot Seckman | 1 walk
Nate Bartman | 1 single, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base

COUGAR PITCHING
Broker Bailey (L) | 1 inning, 4 hits, 7 earned runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout
Spencer Timm | 5 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Tyler Sabodor | 1.2 innings, 3 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts

GAME TWO | JOHN WOOD 4, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 3
It would be quite the back and forth battle to wrap day one of the series. A pitcher's duel started the game out, with neither team able to score until the third inning, when it was the Cougars that drew first blood with an RBI single from Chris Casey for a 1-0 lead. John Wood, though, would respond in the bottom half with an RBI single and an error to take the lead themselves. 

ICC countered with an RBI single from Kaiden Lucero to tie it back up at two runs apiece, and looked like they could add on after a Thomas Krueger single and Ryan Brucker walk, but a flyout limited the damage. 

The Blazers would load the bases in the bottom of the fifth, and with two outs, got another RBI single to get the lead again, but a strikeout kept it at that. 

The see saw tilted back towards the Cougars in the sixth thanks to another RBI single from Casey to tie the game up at 3-3.

Meanwhile, a hitless sixth and seventh innings from Caleb Bieneman kept the Blazers at bay. 

In the top of the eighth, a Lucero walk and Brucker hit by pitch put two runners on with just the one out, but a flyout and groundout ended the inning and left John Wood needing just one run to end it. 

A strikeout got the bottom half going, but a walk, single, and walk loaded the bases for the Blazers, in which an RBI single followed to give John Wood the sweep of the day. 

COUGAR HITTING
Kaiden Lucero | 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Thomas Krueger | 3 singles
Ryan Brucker | 1 walk, 2 hit by pitches
Jayden Malone | 1 double
Chris Casey | 2 singles, 2 RBI
Colton Williams | 1 single, 1 walk
Elliot Seckman | 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, 2 stolen bases
Nate Bartman | 1 double, 1 hit by pitch

COUGAR PITCHING
Kaiser Quick | 4 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Caleb Bieneman (L) | 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. John Wood Blazers (23-19, 19-7)
at Thome Field - East Peoria, IL
Saturday, April 19th - 12:00 PM (DH)