Raiders rally once again to win, set up shot at history in regular-season finale against Rockets

MACOMB, Ill. — For the third straight game, the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team trailed heading to the fifth inning or later.

Yet again, the Raiders rallied. This time, though, they did so against an NCAA Division I arm.

QND tagged Macomb’s Jack Duncan, who has signed with Western Illinois University, for two runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to earn a 7-4 victory Tuesday at Phil Bradley Field and match the longest winning streak in program history at 26 straight games.

The Raiders (29-1) will have the chance to make history at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield in the regular-season finale against Jacksonville Routt (26-3). A victory would move this team past the 2016 squad for the longest win streak and mark the first 30-win regular season in program history.

Only three teams in program history have won at least 30 games in a season.

To put itself on the precipice of history, QND strung together hits in the pivotal innings.

Tucker Tollerton led off the top of the fifth inning by getting hit by a pitch. One out later, Brady Kindhart doubled to drive in Tollerton. Jack Linenfelser singled to plate Kindhart, and Michael Stupavsky singled to put runners at the corners. Duncan avoided any further damage with back-to-back strikeouts.

In the sixth, two hit batters and a Bombers error allowed the Raiders to load the bases with no outs. A Dalton Miller sacrifice fly gave QND the lead, and Kindhart and Linenfelser followed with RBI singles.

Nolan Robb worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning, earning the victory after three scoreless innings of relief. He struck out five, walked one and allowed no hits. Miller struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to earn the save.

Kindhart went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, while Linenfelser and Stupavsky each had two hits. Duncan and Hunter Wilson each doubled for the Bombers (15-11), while Duncan struck out seven, walked none, allowed nine hits and hit five batters over six innings. Macomb’s Connor Watson worked a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two.