Rock Island, IL 2/24/2026 - With their home opener canceled due to frigid temperatures, the Blue Jays hit the road for another eight-hour trip, heading north to Rock Island for a midweek doubleheader against the Augustana Vikings.
Game 1: L, 1-12
Possibly feeling the effects of the long, early bus ride, the Jays came out of the gate slowly. The Augustana Vikings put up seven runs in the first two innings off Derek Archer. The rest of the bullpen fared similarly, giving up five additional runs. The offense also came out sluggishly, recording just two hits and one run, coming from a
Caleb Warren double. The lack of results on both sides of the ball resulted in a 12-1 loss.
Game 2: W, 19-8
Recap: For a third straight series, the Blue Jays came into the series finale needing a win to avoid a sweep. The lackadaisical bats from the first game were unrecognizable out of the gates. The Jays scored three runs in the top of the first, two of which came on a James Dolley single. They added two more in the second inning behind a white-hot Braden Eye double.
The starting pitching woes continued, however. The 6'5" left-hander Blake Althuisius lasted just two innings, allowing five earned runs and letting the Vikings right back into the game. Freshman
Max Blackburn erased those woes, tossing four hitless innings with five strikeouts to put any hopes of an Augustana rally to bed in the best outing of his young career.
The Jays went on to win this one 19-8 on the back of Braden Eye's unconscious 4-6 day with three doubles and four RBIs. Senior Donovan Bohler added three hits and three RBIs, while freshman
James Dolley recorded two hits and four RBIs of his own. The Jays once again boarded the long bus ride home happy and now look to carry this momentum to this weekend against the MSOE Raiders and the Central College Dutch in Sauget, Illinois–another multi-hour road trip.
