Ozark, Mo. – The Maryville University baseball team could not survive a late inning surge from Illinois Springfield as the Prairie Stars defeated the Saints 3-2 to eliminate Maryville from the 2019 Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday evening in Ozark, Mo. The Saints finish the campaign with a record of 29-22, which is the best mark in program history.
 
How it Happened:
The Prairie Stars raced out to an early lead with a run in the first to grab a 1-0 advantage. The score stayed that way until Cody Klotz smashed his team-high 14^thhome run of the year to draw Maryville even at 1-1. The Saints took the lead in the sixth when Drake Lubin started the frame with a double to left field and moved to third on a fly ball to right field. Lubin scored on a Prairie Stars fielding miscue to take a 2-1 lead. UIS tied the game in the seventh with back-to-back doubles to make the score 2-2. Illinois Springfield regained the lead in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly to center to go ahead 3-2. The Saints had runners at first and second in the ninth, but UIS forced a fly out to shallow right field to win the game and eliminate Maryville from the tournament.
 
Winning Pitcher:  N. Alvarado (1-3)
Save: C. Thompson (1)
Losing Pitcher: Louis Niemerg (4-4)
Hitting leader: Lubin – 2-for-4, 2B, run scored
                          Klotz – 1-for-4, HR, RBI. run scored
                          
Records:
Maryville – 29-22
Illinois Springfield – 37-14-1