WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team let an early lead get away and were held hitless in the final 4 1/3 innings in a 9-7 loss to St. Joseph's College of Maine on Sunday, March 10, at Chain of Lakes Stadium in Winter Haven, Fla., as part of the RussMatt Invitational.

Illinois Wesleyan is 4-2 this year while the Monks are now 9-0 with the win. IWU built up a 4-1 lead after two innings and led 7-5 after five before the Monks scored two in the sixth and added two more in the eighth.

Illinois Wesleyan junior first baseman Dalton Fletcher had three hits, including a double, with two runs batted in. Senior shortstop Stephen Billington and senior leftfielder John Bosco each had two hits and drove home runs in an 11-hit IWU attack.

Sophomore Dan Cerniglia (0-1), the fifth of six IWU pitchers, absorbed the loss as he surrendered the go-ahead run in 1/3 inning of work in the top of the eighth inning.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan continues play on the spring break trip as it meets University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Monday, March 11, at 5:15 p.m. ET at Heritage Park No. 1 in Osceola, Fla.  Go here for the live stats link.