East Peoria, IL - The Illinois Central College Baseball team (13-32, 8-16) returned home on Saturday to take on the John Wood Blazers (23-21, 19-9) in the final two games of their MWAC series. Both games were filled with plenty of excitement, with the Cougars holding on to win 4-3 in the first game of the day before holding off a late Blazers comeback for a 10-9 winner in the series finale, resulting in a 2-2 series split. 

GAME ONE | ILLINOIS CENTRAL 4, JOHN WOOD 3
This one was certainly a front-heavy game, as all seven combined runs were on the scoreboard within the first three innings. 

The Cougars got an early RBI double from Jayden Malone for a 1-0 lead in the first, but a big John Wood inning saw the Blazers score two on an error and one on a wild pitch to go up 3-1 through an inning and a half. 

ICC, however, would chip away. First, they'd get an RBI single from Kaiden Lucero to get within a run in the second inning. In the third, an RBI sacrifice fly from Jake Stewart was followed by an RBI double from Kyle Binder to take a 4-3 lead. 

Four innings still remained. There were eight combined base runners the rest of the way, as both teams would keep it to two pitchers for the game. 

COUGAR HITTING
Kaiden Lucero | 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Thomas Krueger | 1 single
Ryan Brucker | 2 walks
Jayden Malone | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI
Jake Stewart | 1 single, 1 RBI
Kyle Binder | 1 double, 1 RBI
Elliot Seckman | 1 single
Nate Bartman | 1 single

COUGAR PITCHING
Blake Norton (W) | 5.2 innings, 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Logan Justus (S) | 1.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

GAME TWO | ILLINOIS CENTRAL 10, JOHN WOOD 9
It may have taken an inning, and they may have started behind 1-0, but when the Cougars got going, it was full speed ahead. In the bottom of the second, the Cougars, in a sense, played some small ball. No, not bunts, but four consecutive singles, three of the RBI variety (Nate Bartman, Thomas Krueger, Ryan Brucker) to go ahead 4-1. 

A third-inning RBI double from Ethan Krutke made it 5-1 before John Wood scored again in the fourth to make it a three-run game. 

Thanks to Kaiden Lucero reaching on an error, and Krueger and Brucker both drawing walks, it put the Cougars in good position with no outs on the board. Jayden Malone would line a two-run single into left to pull ahead by five runs with still plenty of baseball to play. ICC would even add on one more in the sixth on an RBI single from Lucero, making it 8-2 after six. 

John Wood nearly erased it all in the eighth. An error, 3-run double, and RBI single made it just a one run game. The Cougars, though, made one last big push of their own, getting an RBI double from Bartman and an error to take a three-run lead to the ninth. 

The Blazers would get a two-run double to cut it back to a one-run game with two outs, but a lineout ended it just three pitches later. 

COUGAR HITTING
Kaiden Lucero | 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Thomas Krueger | 1 single, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Ryan Brucker | 1 single, 1 double, 2 RBI, 1 walk
Jayden Malone | 1 single, 2 RBI, 1 stolen base
Chris Casey | 1 walk, 3 hit by pitches
Jake Stewart | 1 walk
Ethan Krutke | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Elliot Seckman | 2 walks, 2 stolen bases
Nate Bartman | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 walk

COUGAR PITCHING
Mason Lynch (W) | 7 innings, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Wyatt Jacek | 0.1 innings, 1 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts
Cam Clifton | 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
Thomas Krueger (S) | 1 inning, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Lewis & Clark Trailblazers (23-21, 12-14)
Saturday, April 26th - 12:00 PM (DH)
at Thome Field - East Peoria, IL