NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Tuesday, April 10, 2018) -- Every Illinois Wesleyan position player got a hit in game one as the Titans routed North Central, 16-9, in game one of a scheduled doubleheader at Zimmerman Field in Naperville, Ill., on Tuesday. Game two was suspended due to darkness after six innings and will be finished May 1 at IWU before the originally scheduled series finale.
Illinois Wesleyan is now 13-10 overall and 4-6 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Cardinals are 12-7 overall and lost their first CCIW game against eight wins.
Game One Recap
In game one, the Titans received base hits from each of the nine players in their lineup and eight of the nine tallied at least one run batted in while six recorded multi-hit games in a 16-9 win.
Senior
Gino Cavalieri and sophomore
Nick Figus each homered for the Titans. Figus hit a two-run home run in the second inning to give IWU a 2-1 lead and Cavalieri extended their lead to 16-8 with a three-run shot in the eighth.
Junior
John Bosco and senior
Mike Plecki each notched three-RBI games for Illinois Wesleyan.
Freshman
Joe Prestamer (2-1) was the winning pitcher after allowing just one earned run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings pitched in relief. Prestamer walked four and struck out two en route to the victory.
Down 8-6 in the top of the sixth inning, Illinois Wesleyan received a seven-run outburst from their offense to take a 13-8 lead. Three more runs in the eight via Cavalieri's home run put the game out of reach for North Central.
Game Two
North Central scored eight runs on seven hits while taking advantage of three Titan errors in the bottom of the fourth to take an 8-0 lead, but the Titans cut the lead in half with four in the top of the sixth. The game was suspended due to darkness after six innings.
Chasing 800: IWU head coach
Dennis Martel is four wins away from the "800 Club" with a 31-year career mark of 796-502-3.
What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan hosts Washington U.-St. Louis in a 5 p.m. single game on Friday, April 13 at Horenberger Field.