ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The William Jewell baseball team suffered a 5-4 loss to top seed Illinois Springfield on Thursday in the GLVC Tournament Opener. The Cardinals drop to 30-20 on the season and into the bottom side of the bracket of the double elimination tournament. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Illinois Springfield put together three consecutive hits in the second to take an early lead. 
• The Cardinals bounced right back as Alex Epp singled to center scoring Anthony Hansen to tie the game. 
• Jewell put three on the board in the fifth inning to take their first lead. Back-to-back hits from Hansen and Cameron Fliege scored two, followed by a sac fly from Cole Conner to make it 4-1. 
• In the bottom of the sixth, the Stars responded with three runs on two hits and two errors to tie things up. UIS added a run in the seventh inning with a bases loaded single to plate the winning run. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Alex Epp finished with four of the team's nine hits against the Stars, with Hansen and Jake Wilcox each adding two. 
• Jake Sawyer (6-2) suffered the loss, working six innings, allowing three earned runs. 

UP NEXT
Jewell will return to the field on Friday to take on Lewis in an elimination game beginning at 9 a.m.