QU baseball team gets showdown with GLVC rival Illinois-Springfield in super-regional

QUINCY — The Great Lakes Valley Conference is going to be represented at the NCAA Division II World Series.

A best-of-3 series will decide which team it will be.

On Sunday, the Quincy University baseball team learned its opponent for the Midwest Region’s super-regional as third-seeded Illinois-Springfield finished off its undefeated run through Midwest Regional #2 in Detroit by beating second-seeded Wayne State 6-3.

The Hawks (36-23) and the Prairie Stars (46-8) will meet at 1 p.m. Friday at UIS Baseball Field. Game 2 is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday with a rubber match set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday if needed.

The winner of the super-regional advances to the D-II World Series beginning June 4 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

Quincy made the program’s only World Series appearance in 2017. Illinois-Springfield has never been to the World Series.

The Hawks took three of the four games in the regular-season series with the Prairie Stars at QU Stadium, getting victories from right-handers Spencer Walker and Jay Hammel. The seniors are expected to start Games 1 and 2, respectively.

Walker is 9-1 with a 3.09 ERA, three complete games and 79 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. Hammel is 9-2 with a 3.33 ERA, three complete games and 83 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.

Illinois-Springfield won the most recent meeting, hammering the Hawks 16-3 in the championship game of the GLVC Tournament.

Tickets for the super-regional are $10 for adults, $5 for youth and $5 for QU and UIS students with a valid college ID. For more information on the super-regional, visit the event’s page on the UIS website by clicking here.