NORMAL, Ill. - The Rockford University baseball team (1-1) split its first two games of the season on Friday, defeating Eureka College (1-6) 12-1 in 7 innings and then falling 8-5 to Elmhurst University (2-2). Rockford came out clicking on all cylinders in the first game. The Regents hammered out 16 hits, including 6 extra base hits, and scored 12 runs in 6.1 innings. The offensive explosion combined with an outstanding pitching performance from Christian Pearcy, led to an easy 12-1 Rockford win. The nightcap came down to one big inning for the Bluejays. Elmhurst scored six runs in the fifth inning and used a 2-run home run in the fourth en route to an 8-5 victory. 

Rockford 12 Eureka 1 (7 Innings)

• Rockford dominated Eureka in all phases of the game on Friday.
• Rockford scored in six of the seven innings and exploded for 12 runs in the season opener. 
• The Regents' pitching and defense were equally as impressive. Rockford allowed just 1 run in the game and committed no errors.
• Following a 1-2-3 top of the first, the Regents scored a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning.
• Hunter Fiorito and Jordin Lee led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Christian Garcia smashed a 2-run home run over the left field wall to give his team a 2-0 lead.
• The Red Devils were able to cut the lead in half, with a single run off two hits in the top of the second. 
• However, from that moment on, it was smooth sailing for Rockford University starting pitcher Christian Pearcy. Pearcy would retire 10 of next 11 batters ranging from the top of the second into the fifth inning. He also allowed just 3 hits the remainder of the day and no runners advanced past second base.
• The RU offense would continue to provide Pearcy with run support over the remaining six innings.
• Rockford added a single run in the bottom of the second off an RBI groundout, before blowing the game wide open in the fourth and fifth innings. 
• Jordin Lee drove in the first two runs of the fourth with 2-out, 2-run double to give Rockford a 5-1 advantage. 
• One batter later, Phil Hyland laced a single into center, scoring Lee and extending the lead to 6-1 heading into the fifth.
• Rockford would tack on two more runs in the fifth courtesy of a pair of RBI doubles from Jared Herzog and Iszak Mestas. 
• The Regents added one more run in the sixth, after Christian Garcia drove in his third run of the game on an RBI single. 
• Eureka had a chance in the top of the seventh to cut into the Regent lead after putting runners on first and second with just one out. Fortunately, Pearcy was able to retire the next two batters, one via a strikeout and the other on a fielder's choice to end the threat. 
• Rockford would end the game in the bottom of the seventh with the 10-run rule. Zach Hunter and Iszak Mestas got things started with back-to-back one-out singles. One batter later, Hunter Fiorito doubled into center, scoring Mestas and making it a 10-1 Regent lead. Following a walk to load the bases, Phil Hyland ended the game via a walk-off, two-run, ground-rule double to give his team a 12-1 win. 

Rockford 5 Elmhurst 8

• The second game of the day came down to one big inning, as Rockford outplayed Elmhurst for nearly the entire evening. The Regents outscored the Bluejays 5-2 over 8 innings, but unfortunately, surrendered 6 runs in the fifth, which was ultimately the difference in the game.
• Rockford struck first with a single run in the top of the first inning.
• Jordin Lee got things started with one-out triple into right field. One batter later, Phil Hyland gave Rockford a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly into center field. 
• The Regents would tack on two more runs in the second and extend their lead to 3-0. 
• Iszak Mestas drove in the first run of the frame with a one-out RBI single back up the middle.
• Two batters later, Hunter Fiorito stroked a two-out RBI single into left field and put his team up by three.
• RU starting pitcher Carson Balcer had things on cruise control through the first three innings. Balcer retired the first 9 batters he faced, including striking out three of the final six. 
• The Bluejays were finally able to get to Balcer in the fourth. Elmhurst got its first hit of the game on infield single, and then two batters later, Trey Romay hit a 2-run home run to make it a 3-2 game.
• The bottom of the fifth inning started off innocent enough, as Rockford retired the first two Bluejay hitters. However, the Regents struggled to get the final out in the frame, as Elmhurst scored 6 runs off 5 hits and took advantage of 4 walks and balk to take an 8-3 lead. 
• Kerrick Jones entered the game to get the final out of the inning and did an excellent job keeping it within reach over the final few innings. Jones did not allow a hit and retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced, including the final seven.
• Rockford was finally able to get its offense back on track in the top of the eighth inning. 
• The Regents loaded the bases with no outs via a walk, an infield single and a hit by pitch. Rockford then plated a pair of runs thanks to two passed balls to make it an 8-5 game. After a walk put runners on the corners with still no one out, Elmhurst went to its bullpen for its second pitching change of the inning. Unfortunately, this one worked, as Andrew Schellhorn struck out the next three batters to end the inning.
• Rockford then went down in order in the top of the ninth and fell by a final score of 8-5.

Eureka

• Christian Pearcy was brilliant on the mound in the season opener. Pearcy tossed his first complete game as a Regent. The senior right-hander went 7 innings, allowing just 1 run off 5 hits and striking out 10. 
• Christian Garcia went 2-4 with a home run, 3 runs driven in and 1 run scored. This is now the second straight season that Garcia has homered in his first at bat of the year. 
• Phil Hyland was 2-5 with a walk-off double and 3 runs batted in.
• Jordin Lee was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. 
• Hunter Fiorito, Troy Tucci, Jared Herzog, Iszak Mestas all had 2 hits.

Elmhurst

• Kerrick Jones was nearly unhittable out of the bullpen on Friday. Jones tossed 3.1 hitless innings and struck out one. 
• Iszak Mestas went 2-4 with an RBI.
• Phil Hyland was 1-1 with a run batted in.
• TJ Jones was 1-1 with a run scored.

The RU baseball team returns to the diamond on Saturday, March 13 with back-to-back games against Eureka and Elmhurst starting at 11 AM.