BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team took the season-series from No. 30-ranked Augustana College on Tuesday, April 26 with a 5-2 victory at home. IWU's bullpen pitched seven shutout innings en route to the victory. Leading the charge offensively was junior
Jake Stewart who was 3-for-4 from the plate with a solo home run to lead off the bottom half of the first inning.
With a win the Titans improved to 20-12 overall with a 13-5 record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Augustan fell to 24-10 overall with a 10-8 record in CCIW action.
After Stewart's first inning blast, the Titans took a 2-0 lead with an RBI single from freshman
Garrett Shea. The Vikings tied the game at two-all in the top of the second inning, knocking Titan starter
Casey Becker from the game. Becker finished with a line of two innings pitched with one strikeout and three hits, two earned runs, and two walks allowed.
A second RBI single from Shea which drove home Stewart in the third inning proved to be the eventual winning run for the Titans. Shea finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBI. Senior shortstop
Jarrod Juskiewicz added to IWU's lead in the third with a sacrifice fly that scored freshman
Nick Figus. Figus was 3-for-4 from the plate on Tuesday alongside Stewart. Senior
Pat Mollo continued his strong play this season with an RBI single that scored Stewart in the fifth inning.
After Augustana tied the game at two in the second inning, the Illinois Wesleyan bullpen combined to allow just six hits and no earned runs over the final seven innings of play. Freshman
Braden Miller (2-0) earned the victory for IWU pitching four innings of relief where he allowed a lowly two hits to the Vikings. Senior
Sean Coonan earned his second save of the season after striking out the final batter of the game.
For the Vikings, Zach Morgenstern pitched a complete game in which he allowed 10 hits and four earned runs, while striking out nine Titans. Offensively, Augustana was led by Carter Amundsen, Cayton Wallace, and Tyler Nunez who each tallied two hits.
What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday, April 29 for a home doubleheader against Millikin University. Millikin's record stands at 17-15 overall with a 6-12 record in CCIW play. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. from Jack Horenberger Field.