Surging SWIC set for showdown with SE Illinois

On a lovely warm, windy spring Wednesday afternoon, Southwestern Illinois College Blue Storm coach Neil Fiala said he had just one piece of advice for his team as it prepared to play Southeastern Illinois College Falcons in Harrisburg.

“I told the team to be prepared to score 15 or 20 runs. In that ballpark with wind blowing out, I’ve seen a lot of runs scored in the past,” Fiala said. “We went out and did what we had all week. We swung the bats well.”

Two days after outscoring Olive Harvey College 13-3 and 20-3, the Blue Storm bats busted loose once again, this time for a season-high 24 runs in a 24-11 win over the NJCAA Region 24 rival Falcons.

Getting a career day from sophomore Jake Monti, the Blue Storm (14-12-1) erased an 8-7 deficit by scoring nine runs in the seventh inning and seven more in the eighth as it pulled away for its fourth straight win.

The sudden offensive burst comes only days after SWIC was swept by NJCAA Region 24 power John A. Logan College to extend its losing streak to five when the Blue Storm lost 23-2.

“In all fairness when we were in that little bit of a hitting slump we were playing two very good teams in John A. Logan and Wabash Valley, both of whom have very good pitching,” Fiala said. “But also early in the season we were moving people around, looking for that solid everyday lineup.

“Matt Klosterman from Belleville West has taken over at shortstop and done a great job and so we’ve been able to move Ken Wilson to third base and that has really solidified our entire infield.”

Monti has a day

Monti, who is second on the team with a .378 average with three home runs and 22 RBIs, had the best day of his young career on Wednesday in Harrisburg. Monti went 4-for-6 with a pair of three-run home runs and finished with 10 RBI.

Wilson was 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBI, while Colin Holton was 4-for-6 with a double and two RBI.

Holton leads SWIC with a .405 average.

“We had been struggling so back that we noved the lineup around. But actually right now, we’re not far from the one that we started the season with,” Fiala said. “We’ve move Matt (Klosterman) to the No. 5 spot and he’s responded by hitting the ball great (.364 average) and Dylan McEwen has done a good job of catching and hitting sixth in the order.”

Bullpen doing its job

While the Blue Storm starting pitching has been a bit inconsistent, the bullpen has been nothing short of sensational. Zach Mathes has deleveloped into SWIC’s closer with with four saves and a 1.42 ERA, while freshman Corey Vogel is 2-0 with two saves and also has an ERA of 1.42.

Former Althoff standout Ben Hankhammer leads the SWIC staff with three wins.

The Blue Storm is at home on Friday when it will take on Southeastern Illinois College in a junior college doubleheader beginning at noon.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Surging SWIC set for showdown with SE Illinois."