Springfield, Ill. – Cody Creed gave the Maryville baseball team a solid outing in the first game of the day to help the Saints earn a split with No. 12 Illinois-Springfield Saturday afternoon at UIS Ballpark in Springfield, Ill. Creed struck out eight batter to help the Saints earn a 6-4 win in the opener while the Saints could not overcome a big fifth inning by the Prairie Stars as Illinois-Springfield won the nightcap, 13-6. 
 
Game One:
The Saints opened the scoring in the third inning as Cody Klotz laced an RBI single to center field to put Maryville out if front 1-0. Daniel Covert added to the lead in the fifth with a two-run blast down the left field line to stake the Saints to a 3-0 advantage. The Prairie Stars battled back with a pair of runs of their own to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Saints added to the lead in the seventh as Klotz drew a bases loaded walk and Louis Niemerg ripped a two-run single to left field to give Maryville a 6-2 lead. UIS plated two runs in the eighth, but that is as close as they came as Tanner Marshall came in to relieve Creed and retired the final four Prairie Star batters to secure the win. This is the first time that a Saints baseball team has defeated a Top-25 team since Maryville knocked off No. 10 Quincy on April 23, 2016.
 
Winning Pitcher:  Creed (3-3)
Save: Marshall (4)
Losing Pitcher: J. Revels (3-1)
Hitting leader:  Renner – 2-for-3, 2B, two runs scored
                          Covert – 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, run scored
 
Game Two:
After a quiet first three innings, the Saints cracked the scoreboard in the fourth as Wyatt Elbe laced a two-run double down the left line to give Maryville a 2-0 advantage. The Saints tacked on another run in the frame as Camdon Mercier hit a single to score Elbe and push the score to 3-0. Illinois-Springfield quickly took control of the game with 12 runs over the next two innings to take a 12-3 advantage. Maryville cut into the Prairie Star lead in the sixth as Collin Prather drew a two-out bases loaded walk to score Niemerg to make the score 12-4. Drake Lubin stepped in and drove in a run with a single and Covert drew another bases loaded walk to push the score to 12-6. Illinois-Springfield added a run in the home half of the seventh to extend the lead to 13-6.
 
Winning Pitcher:  A. Dean (4-0)
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: Cody Siebenberger (3-1)
Hitting leader:  Elbe – 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, run scored
                          Niemerg – 1-for-4, 2B, two runs scored
 
Records:
Maryville – 10-13, 7-4 GLVC
UIS – 15-7-1, 6-5 GLVC
 
Up Next: The Saints play the rubber game of their three-game series with Missouri S&T Tuesday afternoon at Weber Field. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.