3/18/2026 Jacksonville, IL–The Westminster Blue Jays took a mid-week trip to central Illinois for two seven-inning games. Coming off a sweep of Eureka College to open conference play, the Blue Jays were rolling coming into this matchup.  

 

 
Senior Brayden Knittel got the starting nod in game one of the two-game slate. He only went 2.1 innings, pitching well before a solo home run chased him from the game. Meanwhile, the offense got off to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first two innings from a group of walks, singles, and a costly run-scoring error. Following Knittel's efforts on the bump was Maddox Christenberry to record the next 1.2 innings cleanly, and Blake Althuisius, who pitched two outs into the sixth before giving up two unearned runs off a homer that followed a two-out error. His day ended there. The homer was just the start of the "unearned run" misfortune, however. Dawson Willard and Colyn Wright would follow him, both failing to record an out and giving up six more unearned runs before Hayden Sanborn would finally put a close to the catastrophic inning. The Westminster offense had no response in the next half inning, failing to score, and lost this one 4-9.  

 

 

The second game of the doubleheader was also one where the Jays' pitching depth was put to the test, and they would truly be tested in this back-and-forth game. Max Blackbourn opened the game for the Jays, pitching just one inning, allowing one run to score from a fielder's choice. Two innings later, the Blue Jays' offense would score two runs to take the lead off a Braden Eye single, and Brett Montgomery sacrifice fly. The lead would only last until the fifth inning, when Illinois College would score three runs against Blue Jay sophomore James Duckworth, who inherited two runners from Salvador Moncada. To follow the theme of unearned runs, the Blue Jays' offense would score three runs in the sixth off the back of four Illinois College errors, to take the lead. A two-run homer in the bottom half of the frame, however, would allow Illinois College to take the lead right back. In the top of the seventh, the final inning, the Blue Jays mounted a rally started by singles from Brett Montgomery and Aden Pecka. Pecka was able to advance to second on an error by the right fielder, and would eventually come in to score the game-winning run coming from a Sam Alles single, unearned. The Jays' fight won them the game 7-6, and their ability to put the ball in play and put pressure on the defence gave them a well-earned split of the Wednesday double-header.  

 

The Blue Jays' next game will be on the road in Arkansas against Lyon on March 20 and 21. By the end of the series, the Jays will have played eight games in Arkansas this year, before playing a single one in Missouri. The team will look forward to staying in the Show Me State following the series, playing at Washington University, and the long-awaited home opener at Saucier Field against Webster.