Photo gallery: Hawks, Prairie Stars play five innings before thunderstorms shake QU Stadium

QUINCY — They waited as long as they could. Finally, the Quincy University baseball players had to leave QU Stadium before the threatening skies dumped rain and hail and ruined a Thursday afternoon at the ballpark.

The Hawks and Illinois-Springfield were tied at 2 when lightning strikes within 7 miles of the stadium forced the game to be suspended in the middle of the fifth inning. The Great Lakes Valley Conference game will be resumed at 10 a.m. Friday with a doubleheader to follow.

QU left-handed starter Griffin Kirn got through the fifth inning, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. The Prairie Stars’ John Columbo led off the top of the third inning with a home run, but the Hawks erased the deficit in the bottom of the frame when Dustin DuPont drove a two-run home to right-center field.

UIS tie the game in the top of the fourth as a walk and a hit batter were followed by a sacrifice bunt and a groundout. Jake Vitale, who doubled in his first at-bat and scored on DuPont’s homer, will lead off the bottom of the fifth when the game resumes. Prairie Stars right-hander Jake Newman allowed two runs and three hits with five strikeouts in four innings.

Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent the afternoon at QU Stadium and put together this photo gallery together before the rain: