AUBURNDALE, Fla. – A complete game by junior pitcher Quinn Gudaitis (Arlington Heights, Ill.-John Hersey HS) led the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team to a 4-2 victory over previously unbeaten UMass Dartmouth, Thursday, March 12. With the win, the Titans improved their record to 7-3 while handing the Corsairs their first loss of the season, dropping them to 8-1.

Gudaitis struck out 10 UMass Dartmouth hitters while giving up five hits and a pair of runs while also forcing two double plays. This is the third complete game of his career and the first since May 10, 2019, when he went the distance against North Park in the CCIW Tournament.

At the plate, five Titans collected hits, led by senior Nick Figus (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way North HS) going 2-for-5 and a run scored. Sophomore Evan Ranneklev (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley HS) and senior Jeran Simpson (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) each had a base knock and a run scored with Ranneklev managing a double and Simpson driving a runner home. Senior Brandon Skopick (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln Way East) and sophomore Jack Schneider (Naperville, Ill.-Benet Academy) rounded out the base hitters as Schneider also batted a runner in. Sophomore Jake Tencza (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln Way East) scored a run and also stole a base for the Titans.

Both teams were held scoreless until the top of the fourth inning, when Schneider batted in Ranneklev, who reached on a leadoff double to start the inning, on a groundout to break the deadlock. Simpson reached on a single and stole second and would eventually reach home on an error.

In the top of the fifth, Figus led off with a single, Skopick followed up with another single, and Ranneklev walked to load the bases. The next batter, Simpson, showed good plate discipline to take the walk and bring Figus home to extend the Titan lead to 3-0.

After the Corsairs scored in the bottom of the fifth and sixth on groundouts, the top of the eighth produced another run for the IWU as Tencza reached base after being hit by a pitch and taking second on a wild pitch before scoring on an error on a batted ball by sophomore Jared Mutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East HS).

Mutter would gun down a runner in the bottom of the eighth as they tried to steal second to keep UMass Dartmouth off the bases. Gudaitis sealed the victory for the Titans in the bottom of the ninth, striking out a batter and only allowing one to reach base to make the final score 4-2 in favor of IWU.