CCIW Baseball Tournament Website

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Illinois Wesleyan senior right-hander Matt Hart scattered seven hits in 8 1/3 innings to help the Titans to a 7-1 win over Wheaton in the opening round of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball tournament on Thursday, May 7 in Naperville, Ill.

The Titans improved to 25-14 and will face Carthage College (26-12) in the second game of the day on Friday at Zimmerman Field. The Red Men were 3-2 winners over No. 1 seed North Central in 10 innings in Thursday's first game. The Cardinals (25-15) and Thunder (21-20) square off in Friday's first contest at 9:30 a.m.

Hart (5-2) struck out six and walked one while allowing one run. Jonathan Vlk worked the final 2/3 of an inning.

The No. 3 seeded Titans led 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh when they put up five unearned runs on five hits and two Wheaton errors.

Shortstop Jarrod Juskiewicz was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Adam Glogovsky singled to shortstop to send Juskiewicz to second. Freshman third baseman Gino Cavalieri reached on an error by the catcher that allowed both Glogovsky and Juskiewicz to score unearned runs. Freshman Mike Plecki walked and sophomore Nick Huskisson singled. The Titans took advantage of another error that allowed Cavalieri to cross the plate and a single by senior second baseman Derek Idstein scored Huskisson. After a single by sophomore catcher Pat Mollo, junior first baseman Matthew Mardis singled to shortstop, scoring Idstein.

Mollo and senior centerfelder Tim Coonan each had three hits in a 13-hit IWU attack.