CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 5 Parkland baseball swept a Saturday doubleheader against Illinois Central behind an 17-strikeout performance by freshman Ryan Culley in game one and an 11-hit attack in game two. Improving to 11-6 on the season, the Cobras won game one by a score of 4-0 and then took game two by a count of 10-3.
 
With the Saturday sweep of Illinois Central, Parkland improves to 5-3 in conference after taking three of four from the Cougars this weekend. The Cobras split Friday's doubleheader in East Peoria, winning game one, 9-3, before falling in game two, 9-0.
 
In what was the most strikeouts in a seven-inning game in Parkland baseball history, freshman left-hander Ryan Culley recorded 17 of his 21 outs by way of the strikeout. Allowing just four hits and a walk over seven shutout innings, Culley picked up his second win and lowered his season ERA to 3.60. The Parkland all-time record for most strikeouts in a game is 21 strikeouts by Brady Schanuel in a nine-inning game. Both Culley and Schanuel hail from Belleville, Illinois and graduated from Belleville East High School. 
 
In game two, the Cobras used 11 hits, including five that went for extra bases, to route the Cougars, 10-3. Leading by just one run, 4-3, entering the bottom of the third, the Cobras put a six spot on the scoreboard and shutout Illinois Central over the remaining four innings. Starter Chase Gockel went three innings, allowing three runs, while reliever Keegan McHood threw four shutout frames with six strikeouts.
 
Game 1: No. 5 Parkland 4, Illinois Central 0 (7 inn.)
 
Freshman left-hander Ryan Culley (2-1) struck out 17 batters over seven shutout innings, and Patrick Hayes lined a go-ahead double in the bottom of the fifth, as Parkland shutout Illinois Central, 4-0, in game one.
 
Striking out the side in four of the seven frames, Culley dominated from the start with three strikeouts in the first. After a strikeout to end both the second and third innings, Culley kept the Cougars off balance for the remainder of the game, striking out 13 batters over the final four innings. Beginning with a strikeout that ended the top of the third, Culley sat down 11 straight batters including an impressive nine by strikeout.
 
After allowing a hit by pitch to break up the streak, Culley promptly punched out his 15th batter of the game to end the top half of the sixth. The Cougars, again, threatened to break up the shutout in the seventh with two hits, but Culley's 17th strikeout and a game-ending groundout kept the line-score clean. The Cobra finished the game with just four hits allowed and one walk.
 
Entering with a 5.54 ERA through his first three collegiate starts, the freshman cut the earned-run average in half to 3.60 with Saturday's performance.
 
With a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth, freshman second baseman Patrick Hayes lined a ball down the third base line to drive in Tynan Shahidi and Damian Pierce. Trevor Burkhart stole a pair of bases later in the inning and scored on a wild pitch.
 
Leading 3-0, Parkland added another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as a pair of hit by pitches and a wild pitch set up a Pierce RBI groundout.
 
Shortstop Trevor Minder led the Cobras with two hits in the game-one victory, while Shahidi and Pierce also reached base twice.
 
Game 2: No. 5 Parkland 10, Illinois Central 3 (7 inn.)
 
The Cobras scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings, capped by a six-run third inning, and reliever Keegan McHood shutout Illinois Central over the final four innings in the 10-3 victory.
 
Four Cobras recorded multi-hit games, led by Trevor Burkhart in the leadoff spot with two singles and a double. Out of the two-spot, catcher Robert Barnard drove in a team-high four runs with a single and a double. Third baseman Alex Steinbach and Tynan Shahidi also contributed two-hit days, both doubling in runs.
 
Following a two-run top half of the third to cut the Parkland lead to 4-3, the Cobras exploded for six runs in the bottom half to retake control of game two. After a popout to start the inning, Alex Steinbach started the rally with a single, followed by a Damian Pierce walk to set up a Tynan Shahidi RBI double to score the first run of the inning. After a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Pierce crossed the plate on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded again and a new Cougar pitcher on the mound, Shahidi came in to score on a wild pitch, and then a two-out RBI double by Barnard scored two more. Barnard scored the final run on a Minder single.
 
Preceding the big blow in the third inning, Parkland plated a pair of runs in both the first and second innings behind two-out hits. In the first, a Steinbach double to right-center field to score Trevor Burkhart and Corey Price. After the Cougars got a run back in the next half inning on a solo home run, Parkland, again, used a two-out knock to score two. This time, Barnard came up with the big hit, a opposite-field single to right field that drove in Hayes and Burkhart.
 
With McHood taking over to start the fourth, the Cobra reliever tossed an important, three-up, three-down shutdown inning following the six-run third, culminating with a strikeout. A pair of strikeouts in the top of the fifth helped McHood work around a one-out walk, and then the right-hander stranded a one-out single in the sixth. The sophomore closed out the win with a popout and two strikeouts to negate a leadoff walk.