BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team split a twin bill against Elmhurst University in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin action Saturday, March 20, at Horenberger Field. The Titans topped the Bluejays 10-3 in the series opener, but dropped game two by a 9-5 tally.

Game One: Elmhurst 3, Illinois Wesleyan 10
Senior Hunter Simon (Verona, Ill.-Seneca) earned the win on the mound. He tossed six innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven. Senior Dan Trudeau (Mokena, Ill.-Mount Carmel) picked up a three-inning save, as he tossed the final three frames without allowing a run.

Offensively, IWU's 10 runs came on 10 hits and six walks. Junior Jack Schneider (Naperville, Ill.-Benet Academy) led the way with a 3-for-5 effort, along with two RBIs. Freshman Jacob Cyrus (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) and sophomore Ethan Burgh (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) each went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, while Burgh also drove in two. Junior Cole Greer (Springfield, Ill.-Pleasant Plains) rounded out the multi-hit performances, as he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

The Titans sprung for three runs on four hits in the first. Greer got things started with a single, and crossed home plate on Cyrus' double. Burgh continued the hit parade with a RBI single, and Schneider capped the inning with a run-scoring triple to center.

After Elmhurst pushed one across in the third, IWU doubled its run total in its half of the frame. Four straight base hits, beginning with junior Evan Ranneklev's (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley) single, saw the Titans plate three. Cyrus' single put two on for Burgh, who roped a RBI single to left. Schneider doubled to tack on another run and Jared Mutter's (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) RBI groundout put the Titans up 6-1 into the fourth.

Elmhurst split Illinois Wesleyan's lead in half, with three runs in the fourth.

IWU responded with runs in the fifth and sixth innings, while the Titans upped their lead to 10-3 with two more runs in the eighth to close out the win.

Game Two: Elmhurst 9, Illinois Wesleyan 5
Illinois Wesleyan cranked out 13 hits in game two, to go along with eight walks. Rannklev and freshman Will Kafer (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal West) notched three hits each, while Cyrus and Burgh tallied two knocks apiece. Schneider picked up two RBIs in the loss. Greer, Ranneklev, and Cyrus each drove one in.

Senior Eric Bennes (Palatine, Ill.-Fremd) ate up 3.2 innings in relief, allowing two runs on two hits, and struck out eight. Junior Evan Hill (Gurnee, Ill.-Warren Township) started and threw the first 2.1 innings, striking out two.

Elmhurst broke the game open with five runs on five hits and an error in the third to take control, 5-0. 

The Bluejays upped their lead to seven on a two-run home run in the sixth, Greer's sacrifice fly put the Titans on the board.

Elmhurst got two back in the seventh, before Illinois Wesleyan rallied in the final two innings. 

In the eighth, a pair of hit batters and a single left the bases loaded with two outs for Schneider. He ripped a single to left to score two and cut the deficit to 9-3 into the ninth. 

Senior Jake Moran (Oak Lawn, Ill.-Richards) opened IWU's half of the ninth with a leadoff single. Kafer followed with a base knock of his own, while Ranneklev's RBI groundout scored Moran. Cyrus's RBI single kept the rally alive, but a strikeout gave EU the 9-5 win.

The weekend rubber match is set for tomorrow, March 21, at 5 p.m. The Titans and Bluejays will square off at Wheaton College's Pfund Stadium in Wheaton, Ill.