Scots Rally to Win Suspended Baseball Game

Kuethe homers, drives in four in 9-8 win

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (04/26/2022) — Three weeks after the game started, and at a different field, the Monmouth College baseball team erased a two-run deficit and beat Knox 9-8 on Tuesday. The win is the sixth in the last seven games for the Scots and moves them to 7-11 in Midwest Conference play.

The game originally started under the lights at Galesburg High School on April 5. The Scots took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Daniel Lummus (New Port Richey, Florida) singled home Raul Guillermo (Miami, Florida). Knox tied the game against starting pitcher Tim McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) in the bottom of the fourth on an error as the rain started to fall. The rain intensified in the fifth and Knox added two more runs for a 3-1 lead before the contest was suspended after five innings.

The teams originally planned to finish the game before playing a doubleheader in Monmouth on Wednesday, April 13. When that day was also rained out, the teams planned to play on Monday, April 18. Snow and cold weather canceled the April 18 games, pushing the resumption of the April 5 game to Tuesday. The Scots went to Knox last Thursday to play a game originally scheduled as a home game, and won 6-3.

Neither team scored in the sixth as the game resumed with Jakob Brokaw (Andalusia, Illinois) on the mound for the Scots. Jack Kuethe (Pekin, Illinois) walked with one out in the seventh and Guillermo doubled. Christian Centeno (Miami, Florida), who replaced Lummus when the game resumed, got the Scots within one run with a sacrifice fly to left.

Knox got that run back with a walk and two singles in the bottom of the seventh. In the eighth, Logan Komater (Ottawa, Illinois) led off with a walk and Nate Melvin (Ottawa, Illinois) walked. After a sacrifice bunt, Justin Bost (Reynolds, Illinois) singled home Komater to get the Scots back within one. Kuethe launched his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a 3-run shot for a 6-4 Monmouth lead. Guillermo reached on a dropped third strike and with two down, Jackson Van Iwaarden (Ballwin, Missouri) hit his first home run of the season an an 8-4 Scots lead.

Cade Sharp (Aledo, Illinois) took over for Brokaw in the eighth. A walk, hit batter and walk loaded the bases. A run scored on a passed ball, another on a double and a sacrifice fly cut the Scots lead to 8-7. A pair of singles tied the game, but Centeno threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning with the score even, 8-8.

Melvin led off the ninth with a double and moved to third on a sac bunt. With two down, Kuethe singled and Melvin scored for a 9-8 Scots lead. Nicholas Corman (Monmouth, Illinois) came on for the save and got two quick outs in the ninth. A hit batter and a single put two on base but Corman got a fly out to end the game and earn the save.

Kuethe finished with four RBI while Van Iwaarden had two. Both also had two hits in the game, as did Guillermo. Sharp is 2-1 with the win and Corman picked up his second save of the season.

The teams will play again on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Monmouth as the Scots go for a season sweep. The Scots play at Cornell with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday, then host Illinois College at noon Saturday.