BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - No stranger to road games, the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team will continue the program's 12-game road slate to begin the season. The Green and White will make the 442-mile journey, south, to Millington, Tenn. for a five-game stretch, March 11-18. The team will play the first four games in Millington, at the USA Stadium Complex, by squaring off with Olivet College (0-7), Ripon College (0-3), University of Chicago (2-2), and Sewanee University (8-4-1). The trip will conclude in Memphis with a game against Rhodes College (6-6) at Rhodes. Entering the spring trip, the Titans own a record of 1-6.

The five-game schedule, including the location of each game, can be found below:
 

Opponent	Date	Time	Location
Olivet	Saturday, March 11	10 a.m.	USA Stadium Complex, Field 5
Ripon	Sunday, March 12	2 p.m.	USA Stadium Complex, Stadium Field
Chicago	Wednesday, March 15	5 p.m.	USA Stadium Complex, Stadium Field
Sewanee	Friday, March 17	2:30 p.m.	USA Stadium Complex, Field 2
Rhodes	Saturday, March 18	12 p.m.	Stauffer Field

Information regarding the USA Stadium Complex can be found here, while information regarding Stauffer Field can be accessed here. 

In the first seven games of the season, the Titan offense has been led by senior Thomas Bleker (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard West), junior Louis Perona (Chicago, Ill.-Lane Tech), and senior Jalen Ping (Chatham, Ill.-Glenwood).

Among qualified hitters, Bleker leads IWU with a .417 average that includes 10 hits and a pair of doubles. Perona has accumulated a .407 average and he leads the team with a .968 OPS, seven runs scored, 11 hits, and 14 total bases. 

Having the third-highest batting average on the team (.357), Ping tops the team with 28 plate appearances and three two-baggers. 

On the bump, sophomore Dalen Banks (Springfield, Ill.-Springfield) has kept offenses at bay throughout his two starts. In 11 innings of work, Banks has a sub-one ERA, at 0.82, that includes a team-high 11 strikeouts. The sophomore has only surrendered six hits and one earned run to go along with his .143 opponent batting average. 

Saturday's contest between the Titans and Olivet will mark the first time that the two program's will meet on the diamond.

IWU and Ripon have squared off a total of four times before, with the Green and White owning a 3-1 record. The two last met a year ago in Davenport, Fla., March 17. IWU took down the Red Hawks by a final score of 9-0 that saw Scott Monocchio toss a complete game, four-hitter. 

Wednesday's duel with the Maroons will mark the eighth time that the two Illinois institutions will face off. Chicago is clinging to a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to the 1992 campaign. The Maroons most recently swept both ends of a doubleheader, March 1, 2020 by final scores of 14-5 and and 11-4. 

The fourth game of the trip against Sewanee will be the first time the two institutions have played each other.

Out of the five games, the Rhodes game has the most storied history, as the Titans and Lynx have dualed a total of 22 times, with IWU leading the all-time series, 16-6. The Green and White's series lead is due in large part to winning the first seven games in the series from 1989-1993. IWU most recently defeated Rhodes, in walk-off fashion, March 19, 2018 in Auburndale, Fla.

Live stats and live video links can be found on iwusports.com, on the baseball schedule page. All five games will have live stats, while the Rhodes contest will feature a live video stream.