NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team finds itself in first place by two games in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin after a 7-0 and 6-4 sweep of North Central at Zimmerman Stadium in Naperville, Ill., on Saturday, April 22.

The Titans have an overall record of 18-11 and are 11-4 in the CCIW while North Central is 9-4 in the conference and 14-11 overall.

In the first game shutout, starter Matt Banaitis (5-0) pitched seven strong innings, allowing five hits and fanning three while Brian Henry came in to work the final two innings and allowed two hits.

The Titans scored single runs in the first and third innings and tacked on three in the seventh and two more in the eighth. Freshman centerfielder Nick Figus had two of IWU's five hits and drove home four runs with three coming on a bases-loaded seventh inning double, the game's only extra-base hit.

IWU also got ahead early in game two with a pair of first-inning runs on doubles by Figus and senior Pat Mollo and an error by the North Central shortstop. Figus and Mollo each had two of the Titans' nine-hit attack with sophomores John Bosco and Mitch Pfeiffer and senior Jarrod Juskiewicz all adding runs batted in.

Senior righthander Sean Coonan (4-1) got the win in relief of starter Nick Huskisson, who went the first three innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Coonan, who threw 106 pitches in six innings, allowed one earned run on six hits while striking out three.

For the day, North Central outhit Illinois Wesleyan, 16-14, but left 26 men on base (13 in each game).

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan plays another road CCIW doubleheader on Sunday, April 23, facing Augustana at 1 p.m. at Swanson Stadium-Brunner Field in Moline, Ill.