QUINCY -- The Quincy Gems fell behind 10-0 after 2 1/2 innings, closed the gap to two runs on two different occasions Friday night but failed to take the lead in a 13-10 loss to the Springfield Sliders in a Prospect League game at QU Stadium.
The Gems (19-20 overall), the first-half champions in the West Division, are 1-6 in the second half. They have lost four in a row. The Sliders (23-14) improved to 6-1 in the second half and remain in first place in the West.
The Sliders did most of their damage against starter Jake Haberer, who allowed 10 runs in three innings -- including eight in the third inning.
The Gems responded by scoring six runs in the bottom of the third. They used six hits and a walk. Frankie Perrone hit a two-run double, and C.J. Schaeffer and Trey Mathis hit RBI singles during the inning.
Springfield scored once off reliever Glenford Sanchez in the fourth, but the Gems responded with two runs in the fifth. Schaeffer had an RBI single, and Joey Polak hit a two-out line drive single off relief pitcher Colton Neel's leg for another RBI.
The Gems scored a solo tally in the sixth when Scottie Sanders scored on a wild pitch, and they scored again in the eighth on a home run by Mathis. However, the Gems also stranded at least two runners in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and they left a runner on third in the eighth.
The Gems struck out 15 times against four Springfield pitchers. 
Polak and Mathis had three hits each for the Gems, and Schaeffer and Shea Stine had two hits each. 
The game lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes, and the two pitching staffs combined to throw 382 pitches.