SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Maryville baseball team suffered a bottom of the ninth 17-16 walk off loss in the series opener in Springfield, Ill., against the Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars. The Stars used seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to erase a 16-11 lead to earn the opening victory.
 
The game was not played at the normal UIS Baseball Field, instead being played at historic Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill.

Three different Saints recorded multiple hits, with Matthew Rauser going 3 for 7 with two RBIs, Jack Meyer adding in his own 2 for 5 performance and Steven Schneider leading in RBI with three in his 3 for 5 day. In total the Saints walked 14 times over nine innings, with Aaris Stolte and Justin Gorski both being issued three free passes.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
A pitching dual it was not, and it started early. Schneider scored the first run of the game and later forced an error on a stolen base allowing the Saints to take a 2-0 lead.

A three-run homer by UIS in the bottom half of the first left it 3-2 just an inning into the game, a sign of the contest to come. The biggest punch came in the second where Maryville plated six, with Jace Burton, Schneider and Tim Leark all snagging RBIs to leave it 8-3.
 
Springfield chipped away, making it 11-11 in the bottom of the sixth. The Saints built their 16-11 lead across the next two frames, with a bases loaded Stolte walk and a wild pitch accounting for the two in the seventh. The eight saw a Brady Kindhart triple be the big swing as Dominic Anselmo and Schneider also added RBIs to give the pitching some room to work.

Poor control on the mound from the Saints in the ninth allowed nine straight batters to reach, ending the game on a walk off single.
 
UP NEXT
The Saints will try to brush off the sting of the series opener as they head back to UIS' campus tomorrow for the twin bill starting at 12 p.m.