KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The Truman State Bulldogs opened a four-game home GLVC series against Illinois-Springfield, splitting the first two days before dropping the final two contests to fall to 9-23 overall and 3-16 in conference play. A dominant offensive showing in Wednesday's opener gave the Bulldogs their second win of the conference season, while the Bulldogs showed fight in Saturday's nine-inning finale despite coming up short. The Prairie Stars entered the series ranked among the top teams in the GLVC at 22-7.
Game 1 — Thursday, April 2 | Truman 9, Illinois-Springfield 6
The Bulldogs came out swinging in Wednesday's opener and never trailed, building a five-run cushion before holding on through a late Prairie Stars push. Illinois-Springfield scored first in the top of the first when a Wendling sacrifice fly scored Boyette, but Truman answered with three runs in the bottom of the second. Joey Fentress scored on a wild pitch to tie it 1-1, and the Bulldogs took the lead for good in the third. Evan Davis delivered the big blow, a two-RBI double to right center that scored both Oliver Degenhardt and Nick Steurer, and a Reed Drabant sacrifice groundout brought home Tyler Tieman to make it 4-1.
Truman added two more in the fourth, with Nick Steurer doubling home Quinten Bauman and Tyler Tieman singling home Nick Steurer to push the lead to 6-1. Illinois-Springfield rallied for three runs in the fifth — a Boyette RBI double, a Morton RBI single, and a Wendling sacrifice fly — but Truman answered immediately in the sixth. Oliver Degenhardt singled to score Tyler Towe, and Evan Davis followed with a two-RBI single to left center, scoring both Oliver Degenhardt and Nick Steurer to make it 9-4.
The Prairie Stars added two runs in the ninth on a Griffitts two-RBI double to close it to 9-6, but Ian Junkin, who earned the win to improve to 2-5, and Alex Wittenauer closed it out. Evan Davis was the offensive catalyst, going 2-for-5 with four RBI. Nick Steurer went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI, and Oliver Degenhardt finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases.
Game 2 — Friday, April 3 (Game 1) | Illinois-Springfield 9, Truman 2
The Bulldogs started brightly in the morning game, taking a 2-0 lead before Illinois-Springfield erupted for five runs in the fifth to seize control. Nick Steurer tripled to open the first inning and scored on an Evan Davis RBI single, and in the second Tyler Towe singled home Reed Drabant, who had walked and stolen second, to make it 2-0.
Illinois-Springfield tied it in the fourth when Griffitts hit a solo home run, then broke the game open with five runs in the fifth. Morton grounded out to score Atkinson, Wendling tripled home Boyette, Griffitts doubled home Wendling, a Contreras sacrifice fly scored Griffitts, and Daker singled home Caceres to push the lead to 6-2. Boyette added a solo home run in the sixth, and two more runs in the seventh — one on a wild pitch and one on a groundball error — rounded out the 9-2 final. Isaac Epp took the loss, allowing six earned runs in 4.1 innings.
Game 3 — Friday, April 3 (Game 2) | Illinois-Springfield 7, Truman 3
Illinois-Springfield wasted no time in the afternoon game, as Boyette led off the second half of the day's doubleheader with a solo home run. The Prairie Stars then sent nine batters to the plate in a five-run third inning that effectively ended the contest. Morton doubled home both Boyette and Atkinson, Griffitts doubled home Morton, and Contreras capped the inning with a two-RBI double to score Caceres and Griffitts, making it 6-0.
Truman responded with two runs in the bottom of the third. Oliver Degenhardt doubled and scored on a Tyler Tieman RBI double, and Tyler Tieman later came home on a Quinten Bauman RBI walk to make it 6-2. Boyette added an RBI double in the fourth to push the lead to 7-2, and Quinten Bauman accounted for the final Truman run with an RBI single in the seventh to score Gavin Schieffer. Caden Carroll started and took the loss, allowing six earned runs in three innings. Danny Lindsey and Warner Lenahan finished in relief.
Game 4 — Saturday, April 4 | Illinois-Springfield 7, Truman 5
Saturday's finale was the most competitive game of the series and another nine-inning battle that showed what this team can do when it plays with urgency. Illinois-Springfield jumped ahead 2-0 in the first on a Morton RBI double scoring Atkinson and a Caceres RBI single scoring Morton, but the Bulldogs responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Tyler Tieman singled home Nick Steurer, Gavin Schieffer was hit by a pitch to score Oliver Degenhardt, and Charlie Berry walked to score Tyler Tieman, giving Truman a 3-2 lead.
The Prairie Stars tied it in the second on a Boyette sacrifice fly, and the game remained at 3-3 through five innings. Illinois-Springfield broke through in the sixth with three runs — a Daker RBI single scoring Caceres and an Ezard two-run home run scoring Daker — to take a 6-3 lead. Truman answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth when Tyler Tieman reached on a first base error that allowed Joey Fentress to score, making it 6-4.
Atkinson hit a solo home run in the eighth to extend the lead to 7-4, but Truman responded immediately when Oliver Degenhardt singled home Nick Steurer to make it 7-5. The Bulldogs put runners on base in the ninth but could not push the tying run across. Nick Phillips started and took the loss, with Ian Junkin finishing in relief. Nick Steurer finished 3-for-5, and Oliver Degenhardt went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Looking Ahead
The series opened on a high note, with Wednesday's nine-run performance featuring contributions throughout the lineup and an encouraging win by Ian Junkin. Evan Davis continued his consistent production, and the nine-inning effort in Saturday's finale in,cluding another three-run first inning rally, showed the Bulldogs are capable of competing with the conference's best. Truman moves to 9-23 overall and 3-16 in GLVC play.
The Bulldogs will stay home for a four game series against Drury, starting with a 3:00 PM first pitch for game one on Friday.
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