Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ALTON, Ill. – No. 3 Parkland baseball earned a split in their 2019 M-WAC opener, taking game one, 9-0, and dropping game two, 5-4, at Lewis & Clark on Sunday afternoon at Gordan Moore Park. The Cobras and Trailblazers will resume the four-game set tomorrow with a doubleheader in Champaign at 1 p.m. central time.
 
Moving to 7-3 on the season, Ty Rybarczyk (2-0) picked up the win with seven, shutout innings, while Trevor Minder went 5-for-7 at the plate and Trevor Burkhart and Alex Steinbach each delivered home runs to lead the offense. Minder also added two stolen bases, giving him a team-leading nine on the season, as the Cobras stole five bags over the two games to increase their season total to 24 in 10 games.
 
No. 3 Parkland 9, Lewis & Clark 0
 
Parkland scored in each of the first three innings in route to a 9-0 victory to start the day. Still holding the 3-0 advantage in the sixth, the Cobras broke open the game with a five-run sixth inning before adding on a ninth run in the seventh. Every Cobra reached base in the game one win, as eight of the nine Parkland hitters registered a hit including six multi-hit performances.
 
Keeping the Lewis & Clark bats quiet, Rybarczk spread five hits out over seven scoreless innings, while striking out nine and only walking one. Through two starts, the freshman righthander owns a 2-0 record with a 1.13 ERA to go along with a 22:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Smacking 15 hits overall, the Cobras were ignited by a top of the order that produced seven hits in 11 at-bats. Lead-off hitter Trevor Burkhart's recorded two extra-base hits, a double and the left fielder's third homer of the season, and drove in a second run on a sac-fly . Catcher Robert Barnard added a pair of hits and runs, while shortstop Trevor Minder led the team with three hits, an RBI and his team-leading ninth steal of the season out of the three-hole.
 
Third baseman Alex Steinbach, designated hitter Dan Warkentin and second baseman Patrick Hayes added two-hit games to balance out the line-up. Steinbach connected on his third homer of the season and doubled for his other hit, while Hayes hit a pair of two-baggers that drove in runs.
 
No. 3 Parkland 4, Lewis & Clark 5
 
Parkland held a 3-1 lead midway through the fifth inning and a 4-3 lead after a go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, but the Trailblazers scored twice in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off win.
 
The top of the order again paced the Cobras, as Burkhart, Barnard, Minder and Price combined for six of the team's eight hits and all four runs. Right fielder Corey Price recorded two of the team's three extra base hits – a double and a triple – and two of the team's three RBI. Scoring off the Price hits was Minder who touched home plate three times on two hits, including a double, and a walk. First baseman Damian Pierce at the team's other RBI.
 
Starting pitcher Sam Ballard offered a quality start in game two, as the sophomore southpaw only allowed two earned runs over six innings. Ballard struck out nine Trailblazers, raising his strikeout-per-nine to 14.94 on the season and lowering his ERA to 2.87. Taking over for Ballard in the seventh inning, Keegan McHood (1-1) took the loss with two runs allowed.