DECATUR, Ill. - The Coe College baseball team opened its season with a series split against Millikin University on Sunday afternoon, falling 8-6 in game one while winning 9-0 in game two. Millikin got off to a hot start in the first game of the series, scoring five runs in the first three innings to open the day with a win. Coe responded well in game two, scoring two runs in the first while shutting down the Millikin bats to split the set. The results move Coe to 1-1 on the season while Millikin improves to 5-1 overall. 
 
Six Kohawks had multiple hits on the day as Tyler Elliott, Riley LeGrand, TJ Deardorff, Isaac Evans, Jordan Kaplan and TJ Johnson all recorded two-plus hits. LeGrand and TJ Johnson led the team with three RBI over the two contests while Luke Smailes added two. Johnson stood out on the mound in game two, working five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and recording three strikeouts. The Kohawk relievers were also excellent in the double-header, throwing eight scoreless innings while surrendering just six hits. 
 
Game One - Millikin 8 - Coe 6
Millikin got off to a good start in the opening game of the series, scoring three runs in the first inning thanks to a three-run homerun from Frank Bryan. The Big Blue pushed their lead to five in the third inning with another RBI from Bryan and an RBI single from Andrew Auton. Coe got back into the game in the fourth inning, scoring four runs in the frame, including RBI's from Luke Smailes, Tyler Elliott and Riley LeGrand. Despite the rally from the Kohawks, Millikin remained in control, adding two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend its lead to 8-4. The Kohawks continued to fight, rallying for two runs in the eighth inning but the Big Blue recorded the final three outs of the game to secure the victory. Coe and Millikin each recorded 10 hits and one error in the opening contest. 
 
Game Two - Coe 9 - Millikin 0
It was Coe who got off to the fast start in game two, plating two runs in the top-half of the inning to take early control. TJ Johnson, who was on the bump for game two took full advantage of the early lead, shutting out the Big Blue bats while allowing just three hits in the first five innings. The offense then added to the lead in the top of the sixth, pushing four additional runs across. The Kohawks got RBI's from Reid Rausch and LeGrand, who tripled home TJ Deardorff in the frame. Deardorff came in to relieve Johnson in the bottom of the sixth and picked up where the latter left off, working three scoreless frames while allowing just two hits. The Kohawks added to their lead in the top of the eighth inning with three more runs including an inside-the-park homerun by Johnson. The Kohawks scored nine runs on nine hits, committing two errors in game two while the Big Blue recorded just six hits in game three while committing three errors. 
 
Up next: The Kohawks will be back in action on Tuesday evening when they take on Cornell College in a neutral site matchup at Mount Mercy University with first-pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. 
 
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