Game Two – St. Norbert 3, Knox 1 l [Box Score]

OSKALOOSA, Iowa – St. Norbert earned its 24th win of the season in the second game of the 2012 Midwest Conference Baseball Championship with a 3-1 win over the second seed from the South Division, Knox.

The Green Knights scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings and starter Josh Honzik limited the Prairie Fire to only four hits in nine innings of work. Honzik surrendered the lone run to the opposition in the fifth inning and also struck out ten batters for his sixth win of the season.

In the third inning St. Norbert tallied a run when Garrick Fisher singled through the left side of the infield to score Powers who reached on an error earlier in the inning. Knox struck right back in the top half of the fifth inning when Michael Schroeder tripled to right centerfield to score Ryan Hoffman and tie the score at one.

St. Norbert took the lead for good in the fifth inning when they tallied a run on two hits and capitalized on a pair of Prairie Fire errors. The run scoring play in the inning was a Chris Hillesheim infield single that scored Travis Mason from second base on an error on the same play. The Green Knights tacked on an insurance run in the sixth with a Pierre home run to right field.

Hillesheim led the way offensively for the home team with three hits in four at bats and collected one of the team’s two extra base hits. Fisher and Pierre were the only hitters to pick up RBI’s on the day.

Knox picked up only four hits on the day with Schroeder having two of the hits and the only RBI. Grady picked up the loss pitching only 4.2 innings giving up eight hits and two runs although neither of the runs were earned runs.

St. Norbert will now face off against Beloit in the first winners bracket game while Grinnell and Knox will play in the first elimination game at 3:30 p.m.