The Millikin baseball team secured at least a share of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin regular season championship after sweeping a doubleheader against North Park University in Chicago on April 25.
The achievement marks an important milestone for the Big Blue, who managed two consecutive wins to put themselves at the top of the conference standings ahead of the series finale.
In game one, Millikin scored early with Carder Reich doubling down the left field line to bring home Ty Cribbett. Sam Bushur followed with a single up the middle that allowed Cribbett to score. Anderson Decker added another run in the second inning with an RBI groundout. Despite North Park scoring twice in the eighth inning, Millikin held on for a 3-2 victory. Both Reich and Bushur went 2-for-4 at bat. Caleb Akins earned the win by pitching 7.1 innings and striking out six batters, while Gavin Houchins closed out with a save.
Game two saw Millikin take an early lead through aggressive baserunning as Leyton Ivers scored on a double steal in the first inning. The team extended its advantage in the third when Cribbett singled home Ivers and Reich brought Britton across home plate. Kolby Koslofski then drove in two more runs during that same inning, making it 5-0 before North Park responded with three runs of their own.
Millikin continued to add insurance runs throughout, including capitalizing on an error and scoring twice more in the seventh inning. The Big Blue maintained control despite giving up two runs late and finished game two with a 9-5 win. Decker went 2-for-3 at bat while Matthew Brummer recorded five strikeouts over seven innings for his win; Jayden McNaught earned a save.
The series will conclude Sunday, April 26, when Millikin hosts North Park at Workman Family Baseball Field starting at 3:00 PM.
