LOVES PARK, Ill. - For the first time this season the Rockford College baseball team was able to play a home doubleheader at Aviators Stadium on Sunday when it hosted the Edgewood College Eagles. The Regents needed to win just one game to clinch a spot in the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament, but were looking to win both as they are still just one game out of first place. Rockford did just that keeping its hopes of a regular season NAC title alive sweeping Edgewood 9-8 and 5-3.
Game one started out as a pitcher's duel before both teams exploded for a combined 14 runs over the final two innings. Edgewood broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning when it scored two runs off three hits. The Regents fired right back in the bottom half of the inning scoring a run to cut the Eagles lead in half. Cole Logemann (Lena, Ill./Lena-Winslow) and Daryn Streed (Belvidere, Ill./North) began the inning with back-to-back singles to place runners on first and third with no outs. Rockford then grounded into a double play but was able to score a run making it a 2-1 Edgewood advantage after four innings. Following three more scoreless innings for Edgewood, Rockford took advantage of horrible bounce on a groundball in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead. Streed began the inning with his second hit of the game this one a single into center field. Chris Senn (Apple Valley, Calif./Silverado) then hit what looked to be a routine groundout but the ball took a horrible hop and ricocheted off the head of the Edgewood shortstop and into left field for a double. Fortunitely the Edgewood player was alright and stayed in the game, but Rockford now had runners on second and third with no one out. Up stepped junior catcher Terry Wiltshire (Elizabeth, Ill./River Ridge) who delivered yet again for Rockford, this time with a 2-run double down the left field line giving his team its first lead of the game at 3-2. However, the lead did not last for very long as Edgewood tied the game in the top of the eighth off a solo shot to right field. Rockford appeared to have taken control of the game in the bottom of the eighth when it scored 6 runs off of 5 hits. Logemann and Streed again started the rally this time with a double and single respectively. After a hit batsman loaded the bases, it was once again Terry Wiltshire who delivered the bit hit. Wiltshire drove an RBI single through the right side of the infield giving Rockford a 4-3 lead. The Regents extended its lead with consecutive hit by pitches scoring two more runs and extending the lead. Rockford tacked on a total of three more runs off an RBI single by Bobby Barrera (Waukegan, Ill, Waukegan), a run scoring single from Jacob Gorsuch (Cherry Valley, Ill./Jefferson) and an RBI ground ball from Matt Grimes (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) to make it a 9-3 game. It turned out the Regents needed each and every one of those runs as the Eagles put the tying run on second with two outs. However the bullpen was able to close out the game for a 9-8 victory.
Rockford used five different pitchers in game one against Edgewood. Starter Dayrn Streed stepped up and was excellent on the mound. Streed delivered another quality start throwing 7.2 innings and giving up just 3 runs. The senior scattered 9 hits and walked just one batter while striking out 7. Sophomore Bill Fell (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) picked up his first win of the season despite not throwing a single pitch. Fell entered the game in the eighth with 2 outs and a runner on first base. He proceeded to pick of the Eagle runner to end the inning and become the pitcher of record. Senior Sean Gillette (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) was called upon to hammer down the save after Edgewood had cut into the lead. The Senior struck out a batter and secured the win with a flyout to left field to earn his second save of the season.
The Regents were led in the second game by their pitching staff. Junior starting pitcher Kyle Pisano (Chicago, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) has now giving up 3 runs or less in four consecutive starts after his start on Sunday. The junior tossed 6.2 innings and surrendered 3 runs. Pisano scattered 8 hits and walked 2 but struck out 7. The junior held the Eagles scoreless through the first 6 innings of the game but ran into a bit of a jam with two outs in the seventh before turning the game over to the bullpen. Reliever Jacob LeMay (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) came in and threw the final 2.1 innings to improve his record to 3-0 this season. LeMay was nearly perfect on the mound giving up just one hit and striking out 2.
Offensively Rockford scored in just two innings but it ended up being enough run support for the pitching staff. The Regents got on the board first in the sixth inning when they scored 3 runs off of 3 hits and 2 errors. Following a Matt Szytz (Huntly, Ill./Huntly) walk, Matt Grimes singled to shortstop; however, the shortstop threw the ball into right field allowing Szytz to move up to third base and then the right fielder threw the ball into left field allowing Szytz to score on the play. Daryn Streed knocked in the second run of the inning with a single through the left side of the infield scoring Grimes. Rockford tacked on an additional run off a double play and led 3-0 through 6 innings of play. After Edgewood had tied it in the top of the seventh Rockford answered right back in the bottom of the inning scoring 2 runs off just one hit. That hit came off the bat of freshman Cole Logemann. Logemann ripped a two-out two-run double down the right field line putting the Regents back on top for good as Rockford went on to complete the sweep with a 5-3 win.
The two wins secured a Northern Athletics Conference Tournament berth for the Regents for the sixth time in seven years and kept them just one game out of first place. Rockford will host Benedictine University on Saturday, May 4th at noon at Aviators Stadium. The two teams are both fighting to determine seeding in the conference tournament the following weekend. Prior to Saturday's regular season finale, Rockford will travel to the University of Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday, April 30th for a single game starting at 7 PM.
