Blue Devils rally to gain split of WB6 doubleheader with Pioneers

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The momentum a game-tying, seventh-inning run should have produced could have been lost when Rock Island Alleman walked off in the bottom of the inning with a 5-4 victory in the first game on Monday’s Western Big 6 Conference doubleheader.

The Quincy High School baseball team refused to let that be the case.

Behind a solid pitching effort from Raulin Zanger and Kenny Taylor and Luke Mettemeyer combining for seven hits, the Blue Devils rallied for a 10-2 victory in the nightcap to remain within striking distance of league-leading Moline.

The Blue Devils (11-9) are 6-4 in the WB6 and two games behind Moline in the loss column with four conference games still to play.

In the opener Monday, the Blue Devils trailed 4-3 heading to the seventh when Luke Mettemeyer blasted a two-out home run to right field to tie the game. However, Alleman’s Jackson Praet singled leading off the bottom of the inning and went to third on an error on a sacrifice bunt.

One out later, the Pioneers’ Jason Bowker hit a sacrifice fly to center field to plate the winning run in a 5-4 victory.

Mettemeyer went 3 for 4 and Connor Schwindeler was 2 for 3 for the Blue Devils. Brady Walker suffered the loss, allowing three earned runs and seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

In the nightcap, the Blue Devils scored three runs in each of the first three innings and carried a 5-2 lead to the seventh inning before exploding for five runs. Taylor had a two-run double and Grayson Cook added an RBI double in the frame.

Taylor finished 4 for 5 with three runs scored, while Mettemeyer was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Noah Harbin had two hits and two RBIs.

Zanger allowed two runs and seven hits over six innings, striking out three and walking two.