Sangamon Sun

Illinois College athletes, Charlie Lardi and Andrew Wieneke, delivered an impressive no-hitter performance, enabling the Blueboys to secure a split against Knox in their Midwest Conference doubleheader held at Blodgett Field, Galesburg. Knox initiated the day with a 5-3 victory; however, Illinois College responded by winning the evening match 2-1.

With this outcome, Illinois College records stand at 16-10 overall and 4-3 within the conference, while Knox holds 10-10 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

During the initial game, Illinois College commenced energetically as Tyler Barker's double contributed to two first-inning runs. Yet, Knox captured the advantage with two fourth-inning runs and thwarted Illinois’s late rally efforts, notably after Louie Bartletti's eighth-inning home run.

Jack McGuire, despite achieving 11 strikeouts over six innings and yielding only two hits, suffered the pitching loss. Barker and Bartletti each contributed two hits and an RBI, underpinning Illinois's offensive plays.

In the subsequent game, Lardi's pitching display was pivotal. He returned to his hometown, achieving 7 2/3 innings with no hits and amassing 13 strikeouts. Successor Andrew Wieneke, executed the final 1 1/3 innings with an additional three strikeouts, finalizing the no-hit performance.

Illinois College’s Ketch Mills significantly contributed to the team's offensive pressure. He scored the opening run due to a Knox error during the fourth inning. Mills later contributed the critical game-winning run in the eighth inning through a sacrifice fly allowing Bartletti to score.

This series is set to conclude as Illinois College plans to face Knox again tomorrow at noon for the deciding match.