Box Score KANKAKEE, Ill. – No. 10 Parkland baseball scored two runs in four consecutive innings on Tuesday to win its regular season finale, a 10-9 victory over (RV) Kankakee. Finishing the regular season with a 33-15 record, the Cobras will begin postseason play next week as the top seed in the Region 24 Tournament.
Scoring runs in six of their nine times at bat, Parkland spread 12 hits out across eight batters. Four Cobras recorded multi-hit performances, as Dan Warkentin (2-4, 2 RBI),
Alex Steinbach (2-4, 3R),
Tynan Shahidi (2-4, RBI) and
Damian Pierce (2-5, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) each recorded two hits. In addition to the 12 hits, Cobra batters also worked 10 walks on the afternoon.
Backed by the 10 runs, six Cobra hurlers combined to finish the nine innings.
Logan Pillars made the start, allowing one run over two innings.
Chase Gockel duplicated Pillars performance while striking out three batters.
Jordan Walden worked 1.1 innings, and then turned it over to
Christian Watson and
Sam Ballard who combined for 2.2 innings without allowing a run.
Casey Kempner came in the ninth to close out the victory.
Parkland scored first on Tuesday, using a two-out hit by Dan Warkentin to get on the board in the second inning.
Tied 1-1 entering the fourth, the Cobras scored two times in each of the next four innings to take control of the game. In the fourth, Warkentin, again, came through with two outs in the fourth to regain the lead, and then the Cobras received a second run on a botched pick-off attempt. In the fifth and sixth innings,
Damian Pierce and
Alex Steinbach tripled home three of the four runs for a 7-2 lead, and then a two-out single by
Robert Archbold in the seventh drove in a pair after the Cavs had cut the lead to 7-5.
Grigalis drove in the final run of the day in the top of the eighth, singing home Steinbach with two outs. Kankakee got four runs back in the bottom of the ninth, but the Cobras hung on for the one-run victory.
Up next, Parkland will begin preparation for next week's Region 24 Tournament, which begins on Thursday, May 16. Having clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Cobras will wait to learn their first-round opponent this weekend. The Cobras have a bye during the final weekend the regular season and wrap up the outright M-WAC title with a Lewis & Clark loss to Heartland.
