Baseball Falls at IC Sunday, Wins Opening Series

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (03/25/2024) — The Monmouth College baseball team was unable to secure the three-game sweep against Illinois College with a 16-9 road loss on Sunday. The Scots (9-6, 2-1) won the series with Saturday's sweep and will next face Grinnell for three.

The Scots fell behind as Illinois College plated three runs in the first, including a 2-run homer. Alexander Dye (Albuquerque, New Mexico) homered in the second to get the Scots on the board, his team-leading third of the season.

Down 4-1, the Scots scored again in the third. Tyler Houck (Park Ridge, Illinois) was hit by a pitch with two outs and Daniel Lummus (New Port Richey, Florida) singled. Raul Guillermo (Miami, Florida) walked to load the bases and Houck scored as Aidan Parkins (Monmouth, Illinois) was hit by a pitch.

After IC scored, Jacob Blunck (Forsyth, Illinois) hit his first career college home run to cut the deficit to 5-3. In the fifth, Guillermo hit a solo homer with one out, his second of the season. Parkins singled, Dye was hit by a pitch and Nate Reed (Chenoa Illinois) singled to load the bases. Blunck singled home Parkins and after a pitching change, Aiden Scott (Carrollton, Texas) gave Monmouth a 7-5 lead with a 2-run double. A groundout by Clayton Matkovic (Sherrard Illinois) scored another run for an 8-5 lead

After IC scored, Monmouth got back to work in the sixth. Houck and Lummus both singled to put runners on the corners. Guillermo grounded into a double play but Houck scored for a 9-6 lead. The Blueboys hit a grand slam in the bottom of the inning to take the lead at 10-9. They added three more in the inning against two Monmouth hurlers. IC added three in the eighth to win 16-9.

Ethan Zaayenga (Tremont, Illinois) made his first career conference start and allowed six runs over five innings and struck out four. Brandon Coats (Mapleton, Illinois) took the loss after allowing seven runs, five earned.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Lummus extended his hit streak to 14 games with three hitsGuillermo has 10 career homersHouck scored seven runs in the seriesDye had six hits in the seriesThe Scots also won the season series against IC last seasonAll nine Monmouth starters had at least one hitBlunch and Scott had two hits and two RBI eachMonmouth continues Midwest Conference play next weekend with a trip to Grinnell, Iowa.The Scots and Pioneers will play one game on Friday and two on Saturday.