CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 19 Parkland College Baseball (19-8, 10-2 MWAC) trailed a couple of innings but ended up cruising to two MWAC victories, 13-6 and 11-1, over John Wood CC (15-21, 5-9).
In two days, the Cobras will travel to Quincy, Ill., to continue the 4-game series with John Wood CC. Games three and four will be on Sunday, April 18. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
Game 1: No. 19 Parkland- 13, John Wood- 6 (7 innings)
Parkland scored one in the first inning and two in the third, but still trailed John Wood, 3-4. In the fourth,
Zyon Avery doubled, and
Brant Vanaman singled, and both were brought in on a
Cole Jones (1-4, HR, 3 RBI) 3-run home run that put the Cobras up, 6-4.
The Blazers got one back in the top of the fifth, but Parkland matched it to keep the lead at two, 7-5. Then, in the sixth, the Cobras added two more, sparked by a
Jimmy Rybarczyk (3-4, 2 HR) solo long ball.
John Wood plated one in the seventh, but Parkland added four in the eighth, highlighted by Rybarczyk's second solo homer of the game and a
Cole Evans (3-5, 4 RBI) run-scoring double off the wall.
Austin Biehl, Vanaman,
Nick Gregory, and Avery each had a pair of hits, as the Cobras outhit the Blazers, 15-7.
Paxton Thompson (5-1) threw five innings and picked up the win for Parkland. He allowed 5 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3.
Kyle Brown (4 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 7 Ks, 3 H, 1 BB) earned the save in relief.
Game 2: No. 19 Parkland- 11, John Wood- 1 (5 innings)
John Wood plated its only run in the top of the first inning but didn't hold the lead for long. In the bottom half,
Austin Biehl (1-2, HR) hit a lead-off home run, immediately tying the game. Parkland then added one more and held a 2-0 lead through two innings.
In the third, a
Zyon Avery (3-3, 2B, HR) 3-run home run sparked a 5-run inning, and the Cobras cruised from there, scoring four more in the fourth and ending the game early.
Jay Schueler (3-1) went all five innings for Parkland, picking up the win after allowing the one earned run on two hits and three walks while striking out seven.