Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 JACKSONVILLE, IL – With two wins over Illinois College, the Grinnell baseball team set a new program record for wins in a season with 24.  Both Pioneer starting pitchers continued their undefeated seasons, in Game One, Sam Tinkham '16 led the way to a 5-3 decision and in Game Two, Charles Carr '19 earned the win in a 9-3 victory. 
 
Game One
 
Both Tinkham and Blueboy starting pitcher Dylan Jones traded scoreless innings until the sixth when the Pioneers scored three runs aided in part on a two-run error by Jones.  Grinnell stretched the lead to 4-0 in the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Matt Hammond '17. 
 
Illinois College answered with a three-run homer in the bottom half of the seventh by Anthony Lucchesi, cutting the lead to one.  Hammond delivered again in the eighth, knocking in Sam Galanek '18, adding a crucial insurance run. 
 
Tinkham took his season record to 5-0 and has earned the win in each of his three MWC starts.  He tallied nine strikeouts and gave up only five hits and two walks in 7.1 innings, the only runs coming from the Lucchesi big fly. 
 
Galanek had three hits and scored twice, Ryan Penaflor '16, Graham Fisher '16 and Hammond each added two hits. 
 
Ben Binversie '17 combined with Godinsky to close the door in the final 1.2 innings allowing a single hit and striking out three. 
 
Game Two
 
The two teams traded single runs in the first two innings before the Pioneers blew open a 7-3 lead with three in the fourth and two in the fifth, and ended up with a 9-3 final decision. 
 
The Pioneers banged out 11 hits and collected six walks, Fisher had three hits, Penaflor and Niko Takayesu '17 had two hits apiece. Takayesu and Anthony Mack '16 each had two RBI.
 
Despite the large lead, the game was never out of reach, as the Blueboy hitters coaxed seven walks at the hands of the Pioneer pitching staff and left two runners on in each of the fifth, sixth and ninth innings.  Carr earned his third win of the season and Christian Baumann earned the save, going 3.1 innings striking out three and allowing two hits and two walks. 
 
On the day, Fisher had five hits and continues to swing a hot bat, hitting a robust .407 on the season, "I feel like I've been hitting pretty well, maybe a little lucky at times but also unlucky too.  Just trying to hit the ball on a line at all times." 
 
The cleanup hitter came up with the bases empty often on Saturday, a bit of a deviation from the norm, "My approach wasn't different, but situations were as I have had more at-bats with runners on whereas today I didn't and I just focused on taking what the pitcher gave me." 
 
As a four-year player and one of the leaders on the team, Fisher says winning 24 games in a season is something to enjoy but not dwell on. "Being 24-4 is certainly nice and is a great accomplishment.  Shows how far we've come in the time my class has been on campus and I can't speak for everyone but I'd like to forget about it and win as many games as we can." 
 
The Pioneers will try to add two more wins to the new record with another doubleheader against Illinois College on Sunday in Jacksonville, IL.  First game is at 10:00am and live audio and stats can be found here:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/midwest/