Blue Devils grab early lead again, Brown makes it stand up in road victory against Beardstown

BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The Quincy High School baseball team did not let the lead slip away this time.

A day after blowing a six-run lead in a 10-9 loss to United Township, the Blue Devils jumped on Beardstown with four runs in the first inning. After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, Quincy scored six of the next seven runs to win 10-3 on Thursday.

Nate Konrad hit a bases-clearing double with one out in the top of the first, and Mason Ritter followed with a double of his own to cap a four-run first inning for the Blue Devils.

Two walks and a single brought in the Tigers’ first run in the bottom of the first. Parker Bell drew a bases-loaded walk to bring the Tigers within two, but Quincy starting pitcher Nick Brown induced a double play off the bat of Starkin Sena Fajardo to end the inning.

Brown held the Tigers off the scoreboard the next four innings, and the Blue Devils tallied four more runs on four hits in the third to stretch their lead to six. They added two insurance runs in the seventh before Noah Wells recorded the final three outs.

Five Blue Devils — Kade Parkhill, Drake Gibson, Mason Dent, Konrad and Ritter — had two hits, and Quincy had 12 hits as a team. The Blue Devils (9-13) have three days off before returning home to face Western Big 6 opponent Sterling on Monday.