FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Lakeland College baseball team belted out 12 runs but a bad ninth inning resulted in a 13-12 loss to Illinois College in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday as part of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic spring games.
Illinois College scored nine runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal the first game and followed that up with a 6-2 win in the second game to sweep the doubleheader. Including a 10-4 loss to MacMurray (Ill.) College on Saturday in their season opener, the Muskies are now 0-3 after two days of their spring break trip.
Peyton Knoll (
Fr.-Linden, Mich.) and
Bryce Skelton (
Sr.-Delavan, Wis.) both had three hits in the opener and freshman
Joey McFeely (
Fr.-Chicago, Ill.) drove in three runs, including a two-run single to give Lakeland a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning of the opener. The Muskies added three more runs in the fifth and six in the sixth to take a 12-2 lead before the Blueboys began their comeback.
Illinois College scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, and then scored nine times in the bottom of the seventh. The Blueboys took advantage of five hits and seven walks in their rally, and compounding the frustration for Lakeland was that eight of the nine runs scored after two were out.
Illinois College scored in the top of the first in the second game, but the Muskies tied it right back up when
Luke Bacci (
Sr.-Grayslake, Ill.) led off with a double, went to third on an error and scored on an RBI ground out by
Cameron Sharp (
Fr.-Pflugerville, Texas).
The Blueboys came right back with three in the top of the second inning, though, and added single runs in the fourth and fifth. Lakeland could only muster one more run when Sharp reached on a fielder's choice and later scored on a sacrifice fly by
Travis Regalado (
Fr.-Willcox, Ariz.).
Bacci had two of the Muskies' five hits in the game while
Connor Hilburn (
Fr.-Rancho Santo Margarita, Calif.) took the loss on the mound, pitching five innings and allowing 11 hits and six runs (five earned) with four strikeouts.
Lakeland also lost its opener on Saturday as MacMurray rapped out 15 hits in a nine-inning game, scoring in six of the nine innings. The Muskies compiled 10 hits of their own but also committed four errors in the field that led to three unearned runs.
Rear and Hilburn both had two hits each, and Rear drove in two runs with a double in the fifth. Bacci and
Kyle Delahaut (
Sr.-Green Bay, Wis.) also had one RBI each.
Jack Shevalier (
Fr.-Helena, Mont.) got the start in the opener and took the loss, allowing 10 hits and six runs (five earned) while striking out two.
Lakeland is in action again on Monday when it faces Wilmington (Ohio) College for a doubleheader starting at 8 a.m. Central time. Live statistics and live video of both games will be offered by Wilmington, with links available at
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com.