Baseball to Lift Lid on 2021 Season Friday Versus Greenville

First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

2/25/2021 10:57:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 2021 season begins with a trip to Edwardsville, Ill. Friday, Feb. 26, for the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team. There, the Titans will take part in a doubleheader against Greenville University. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. on the campus of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Head Coach Dennis Martel, now in his 34th season at the helm of the Titans, will rely on a combination of veterans and newcomers in 2021. IWU returns several letterwinners from a 2020 squad that posted a 7-3 record in a COVID-shortened season.

On the mound, Illinois Wesleyan returns starters in senior Quinn Gudaitis (Arlington Heights, Ill.-John Hersey), senior Hunter Simon (Verona, Ill.-Seneca), junior Evan Hill (Gurnee, Ill.-Warren Township), and senior Eric Bennes (Palatine, Ill.-Fremd). Guidaitis posted a 1-0 record a season ago, striking out 22 over 21 innings. Simon tied Gudaitis for the team lead with two wins, and ranked second on the team with 13 strikeouts over 14 innings of work. Hill and Bennes went 1-1 last year, making two starts each.

Several other pitchers who made appearances in 2020 return for the Green and White, including senior Matt Blaney (Tinley Park, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East). Blaney tossed five scoreless frames and struck out 11 over four appearances.

Offensively, the Titans lost their top-four hits leaders to graduation. Junior Evan Ranneklev (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley), who tallied nine hits last season, started all 10 games for IWU as a sophomore. He ranked tied for second on the team in RBI (7), third runs scored (11), and third with four doubles (4). Juniors Jared Mutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Jack Schneider (Naperville, Ill.-Benet Academy) made the most of a shortened season, Mutter played in seven games, making four starts, hit .316 at the plate with seven RBI, six hits, including a home run. Schneider was the team leader in homers with two, while he also finished tied for third on the team with seven driven in over six games.

Friday's double dip between the Titans and Panthers will get underway with an 11 a.m. first pitch. Live stats and a live stream will be available for both games courtesy of Greenville athletics, with links available on the baseball schedule page of IWUsports.com, or by clicking here. The three-game series will wrap up Tuesday, March 2, with a 1 p.m. start at Family Sports Park in O'Fallon, Ill.

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