Hawks unable to find strike zone or complete sweep of Flyers

QUINCY — The chance at the first weekend sweep of the season got swept away, all because the Quincy University baseball team found itself playing chase all day.

Five Hawks pitchers combined to walk six and hit six batters while allowing 12 earned runs in Sunday’s 14-2 loss to Lewis in the finale of the Great Lakes Valley Conference series at QU Stadium. The Flyers hit two grand slams while collecting 10 hits.

Lewis had scored just six runs combined in the first three games of the series.

The unraveling began in the second inning as QU right-handed starter Seth West allowed a walk, a double and a hit batter with one out. George Bilecki followed with a grand slam to right field. A walk, a stolen base, a hit batter and a single resulted in another run and 5-0 lead.

QU freshman third baseman Evan Davis got a run back in the bottom of the second with a solo home run to left field, but an error preceded a two-run home run in the fourth inning for Lewis. The Flyers tacked on five more runs in the fifth with reliever Tim Reinholz walking in a run and the Flyers’ Connor McDevitt hitting a grand slam in the next at-bat.

The Hawks managed just six hits against three Flyers pitchers with Connor Simons collecting two singles. All six hits came from the bottom of the order as the top four in QU’s attack went a combined 0 for 12.

Quincy (13-19, 10-10 GLVC) travels to the University of Indianapolis (20-11, 16-4 GLVC) for a four-game series beginning Friday. The Greyhounds are second in the GLVC, two games behind Maryville, while the Hawks are tied with Illinois-Springfield for sixth place.