It's finals week, but Blackburn came to play some baseball. The Beavers defeated the first place Spalding University Golden Eagles by a score of 9-0 on Saturday afternoon in Carlinville.

Freshman Tyler Morgan (Mt. Vernon, Ill.) was in a groove all afternoon long. He kept the Spalding hitters off balance as he whirled his way to his first collegiate shutout. Morgan allowed just three hits while striking out five and walking none. It was Morgan's third win of the year and his ERA is now at a beautiful 2.54.

While the freshman was doing his thing on the mound, the hitters gave him some run support. The Beavers collected 15 total hits from seven different players. Blackburn jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first with a RBI double from Matt Mokriakow (Glen Carbon, Ill.), a 2-RBI single from Tyler Durand (Mt. Zion, Ill.), and a RBI single from Brock Hill (Woodlwan, Ill.).

Blackburn scored single runs in every inning afterwards except the third and the seventh. Aaron Moody (Navarino, Wisc.) had four hits and three runs scored as the Blackburn leadoff man. Mokriakow had three hits and drove in four. Vinnie Birk (Swansea, Ill.), Shane Lewis (Middleburg, Flo.), and Hill had two hits apiece. 

The series will conclude tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader at home beginning at 1:00 PM. Tomorrow also marks the last home game of the season which means senior day for nine Blackburn players.