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Baseball Adjusts Three-Game Slate with Wabash

Series set for Sunday and Monday

3/23/2023 2:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With brisk temperatures, along with precipitation forecasted, the Illinois Wesleyan University's baseball schedule has been adjusted for this weekend. The three-game set between the Titans and Wabash College that was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will now be played Sunday and Monday, March 26-27. Sunday's action will feature a twinbill in Crawfordsville, Ill., with the first pitch set for 12 p.m. EST. The series will conclude with a single game at the historic Horenberger Field, Monday, with a 5:30 p.m. first pitch.

Monday's home contest will mark the first time in 324 days that the Green and White will play at Horenberger. Entering the three-game slate, the Titans own a record of 4-8, while the Little Giants bring their 11-6 record to Bloomington.

In the all-time series between the two program's, IWU owns the slim, 4-3, advantage dating back to the 2000 campaign. The Titans dropped the initial meeting before rattling off four straight victories from 2000-2014. However, recent history has been in favor of the Little Giants as Wabash swept last year's two-game series on March 27, by scores of 7-1 and 12-4.

Illinois Wesleyan is fresh off the program's spring break trip to Tennessee where IWU competed in five games over the week-long trip, March 11-18. The Green and White compiled a record of 3-2, with victories over Olivet College, Ripon College, and Sewanee University, with scores of 13-3, 11-1, and 10-6, respectively. Over the five-span, the Titans' offense tallied 44 runs, good for an average of 8.8 runs per game.

On the flip side, the Little Giants most recently took on Hanover College, for a three-game set, March 18-19. The Panthers took the 2-1 series win after sweeping the doubleheader on Saturday. The series proved to be highly competitive, with no team winning by more than two runs and two games being decided by one run.

For the year, the Titan offense has been sparked by senior Jalen Ping (Chatham, Ill.-Chatham), junior Louis Perona (Chicago, Ill.-Lane Tech), junior Evan Hutson (Normal, Ill.-Normal West), and senior Thomas Bleker (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard West).

Ping, who leads the team in eight statistical categories, is one-of-three players to have started all 12 games. The Chatham, Ill. native tops the team with his .457 batting average, 1.161 OPS, 46 at-bats, 13 runs scored, 21 hits, five two-baggers, 30 total bases, and .652 slugging percentage. In the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rankings, as of March 22, Ping sits in fourth with his .457 average, sixth in hits (21), and seventh in on base percentage (.509).

Perona is second on the team in batting average (.422), OPS (1.081), runs (12), hits (19), doubles (three), and leads the team with 12 RBI. Perona has seen season-highs of three hits, four RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs scored.

Hutson and Bleker have notched batting averages of .417 and .389, respectively. Hutson, who has only started six games thus far, has manufactured 10 hits in 24 at-bats. Bleker sits at 14 hits, including a pair of doubles and a career-high four RBI.

On the bump, sophomore Dalen Banks (Springfield, Ill.-Springfield) has tallied three of the Titans four wins on the year. With his three victories, Banks currently sits in a tie for 35th in all of Division III, with six pitchers leading the way with five victories. Additionally, the Springfield, Ill. native leads the team with his 23 innings pitched and 23 strikeouts.

Live stats and live video will be available for the entire series. Sunday's live stats can be found here, while a live video stream can be accessed here. Monday's live stats can be found here, along with a live video stream here.

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