JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - Grinnell College's baseball team kicked off its 2017 campaign Saturday with a pair of hard-fought contests against Elmhurst College and Illinois Wesleyan University.

The Pioneers lost a 10-5 decision to Elmhurst and then went toe-to-toe with the Titans, battling for 12 innings before losing 6-5.

Andrew Shults '19 had a hot bat against Illinois Wesleyan, going 3-for 6 with a double. Matt Hammond '17 added two hits for the Pioneers.

The Titans scored two runs in the opening inning, but the Pioneers countered with two in the bottom of the frame. Niko Takayesu '17 walked and moved to second on Shults' single to right. Both runners moved up a base before Hammond knocked in both runners with a single to center.

The Titans scored a run in the top of the seventh, but again Grinnell tied it with a run in the bottom of the inning as Ravi Levens '19 walked with one out, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Takayesu's single to right.

Illinois Wesleyan made it 5-3 in the eighth and had Grinnell down to its final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, but the Pioneers refused to give in. Benjamin Wong '18 opened with a single, took second on an error and moved to third on a groundout. 

Takayesu followed with a walk and Shults whopped an RBI double to left to make it a one-run game. Sam Galanek '18 was intentionally walked to load the bases before Hammond walked to tie the game, forcing extra innings.

There was no more scoring until Illinois Wesleyan scored in the top of the 12th.

In the first game, Takayesu had three hits for Grinnell and Brad Weaver '18 added two, including a double.

Elmhurst shot out to a 6-0 lead, scoring two runs in the third inning and four in the fourth.

The Pioneers got on the board with a run in the seventh as Levens singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Weaver's double.

Grinnell put two more runs on the board in the eighth. Galanek walked to lead things off and moved to third on Takayesu's single. Hammond followed with an RBI single and Ben Spencer '20 later had a run-scoring groundout.

Elmhurst tacked on four runs in the bottom of the eighth to go up 10-3. The Pioneers scored twice in the ninth when Weaver and Shults each walked and Takayesu delivered a two-run single.

Grinnell takes on Loras College and Lawrence University on Sunday.