GALESBURG, Ill. – After losing via the mercy rule in the opener, the Grinnell College baseball team bounced back in a big way Saturday with a 5-3 victory at Knox College.
 
Grinnell broke out to a 4-0 lead in the nightcap and sailed from there. Charles Carr '19 was masterful on the mound, striking out 11 batters and giving up just one earned run in seven innings of work. Ryan Jack '22 worked a hitless ninth inning to earn the save.
 
Julian Cabrera '19 and Jack Hager '20 continued their stellar offensive seasons by each hitting homers. Cabrera, Riley Guieb '21 and Cooper King '21 all had two hits.
 
King hit an RBI single in the first, and Hager blasted a three-run homer in the fifth that scored Cabrera and Quinton McNitt '21 for a 4-0 lead.
 
The Prairie Fire closed within 4-3 before Cabrera gave the Pioneers some breathing room with a solo homer in the top of the ninth. Grinnell hung on from there to improve to 4-2 in the Midwest Conference and 10-12 overall. Knox fell to 2-4 in the league and 5-18 in all games.
 
Knox bolted out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning of the opener and never looked back in winning 13-2 in eight innings. Cabrera had two hits to lead Grinnell's offense, including a double. Jacob Morsch '20 was tagged with the pitching loss.
 
A two-run homer by Noah Daniel '19 in the fifth inning gave Grinnell its runs as Will Richman '22 scored on the play.
 
Knox visits Pioneer Park in Grinnell Sunday for two more games. The first pitch is set for noon.