(Sugar Grove, IL.) – McHenry County College jumped out to a big lead early on, and broke the game open with a big fifth inning on the way to a lopsided 20-7 victory over Waubonsee Community College. After winning their initial six games of the season, the Chiefs (6-7) have now lost seven straight. The loss also dropped Waubonsee to 0-3 in Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference action, while McHenry improved to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

McHenry scored six times in the top of the first on only two hits. A hit batsman, a walk and two Chiefs' errors contributed heavily to the Scots' big inning. In the bottom half of the inning Garrett Goetz reached base on an error with two outs. Justin Sartori then drilled the first pitch he saw over the scoreboard in right center field to get Waubonsee on the board.

The Scots answered right back in the top of the second as Michael Lehner smacked a two-out, three-run homer down the right field line to make it 9-2. Waubonsee's Frank Dixon led off the bottom half of the inning in similar fashion, lining a solo homer just inside the right field foul pole. Four batters later Mark Sommers laced a two-out single to right to score Grant Lalla to get the Chiefs within 9-4.

Waubonsee stranded a runner at third in the third frame, and McHenry then tacked on a run in the fourth off Chiefs' reliever Zackary Byron. The Scots then blew the game open in the fifth inning, sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring nine runs. Ryan Parquette led off the inning with a towering solo home run to straight away center. An error, a single and hit batsman loaded the bases with no one out. Moments later Lehner drilled a two-run double to right center to make it 14-4 and give him seven runs batted in for the game. Four more hits, a hit batsman, a walk, two errors and a sacrifice fly made it 19-4.

Meanwhile, McHenry starter Kyle Back started to find his rhythm retiring eight of nine batters from the second into the fifth. He was replaced by Ethan Weinandy with one out in the fifth, who then got the next two outs. The Chiefs pushed across three runs off Weinandy in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a two-out, run-scoring double down the left field line by Sommers. However, Lehner then closed out the game with a scoreless seventh, allowing a couple hits and striking out two.

Sartori led the way for Waubonsee going 2 for 4 with a home run, two runs knocked in and one scored. Sommers finished 2 for 4 with a double and run driven in, Dixon was also 2 for 4 with a homer, a run batted in and two scored, and Lalla registered two hits and scored once. Lehner went 4 for 5 with seven runs driven in and four scored to lead the Scots. Parquette went 1 for 3 with a run batted in and four runs scored.