Hammel, Hawks finish series with dominant effort, earn split with Prairie Stars

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Jay Hammel delivered his best when the Quincy University baseball team needed it most.

Having lost the first game of Sunday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader with Illinois-Springfield, the Hawks needed a victory in the nightcap to split the day and the four-game series between two nationally ranked teams.

Hammel made certain of it, striking out a career-high 12 over seven innings and allowing just one run in a 10-1 victory at the UIS baseball field. UIS won the first game 14-5.

The senior right-hander walked only one and allowed six hits in a 109-pitch effort.

After neither starter lasted more than two innings of Games 2 and 3 of the series, it was a relief not to have to burn arms in the bullpen. Eli Ecton and Brett Panick each threw a scoreless inning of relief with Ecton striking out three in the eighth.

Offensively, the seventh-ranked Hawks (20-6, 9-3 GLVC) gave Hammel the lead in the third inning and kept building. Gino D’Alessio jacked a two-run home run in the third, Logan Voth had an RBI double in the fourth and D’Alessio delivered an RBI single in the sixth.

In the eighth inning, Luke Napleton and Lance Logsdon launched back-to-back home runs. In the ninth, D’Alessio had an RBI double and Napleton hit a two-run home run.

D’Alessio and Napleton both went 4 for 6 with four RBIs, while Logsdon, Zach Parks and Ben Dahlof each had two hits.

In the first game, No. 21 Illinois-Springfield answered quickly after Quincy took the lead in the top of the first on Logsdon’s RBI single. The Prairie Stars (22-8, 12-4 GLVC) scored four times in the first inning and twice in the second, knocking right-handed starter Kobe Essien out after 1 ⅔ innings.

Each of the three relievers that followed allowed at least one run and none lasted longer than 1 ⅔ innings. All four pitchers combined to walk nine batters.

Parks, Austin Simpson and JD Ortiz each homered for the Hawks, who couldn’t overcome allowing 19 hits.

Quincy continues GLVC play at 3 p.m. Thursday when it kicks off a four-game series against Maryville at QU Stadium.