Jimmy Gurgone Fielding Against Millikin on April 8, 2023

Kodiak Creative

Baseball Returns to CCIW Play for Three-Game Weekend

Set to take on Elmhurst Friday and Saturday

4/13/2023 5:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After playing back-to-back non-conference contests earlier this week, the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team is set to make its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin return, Friday-Saturday, April 14-15. Due to weather concerns for Saturday's originally scheduled doubleheader, IWU and Elmhurst University will now square off for a twin bill Friday, April 14 at Horenberger Field with a 3 p.m. first pitch. The two teams will then conclude the series Saturday, with a single game, in Elmhurst, with a 11 a.m. first pitch.

Entering the weekend slate, the Titans own an overall record of 9-15 (3-3 CCIW), while the Bluejays sit at 10-12 overall and 2-4 in CCIW action. Both teams are currently riding two-game winning streaks.

In the Green and White's last two games, April 11-12, the offense was clicking to the tune of a combined 32 runs and 28 hits in just 15 innings. After being down 12-4 in the eighth inning against Illinois College on Tuesday, the Titan offense exploded eight runs in the eighth and capped off the heroics with a senior Ethan Burgh (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) walk-off single in the ninth to escape with the wild, 13-12, victory. Yesterday's contest against Knox College welcomed a 10-run fifth inning as Illinois Wesleyan cruised to a 19-4, seven-inning, victory.

On the flip side, Elmhurst's two-game winning streak has come at the hands of CCIW foes Carthage College and Millikin University. The Bluejays took down Carthage, 6-3, Saturday, April 8 and most recently stunned league-leading Millikin, yesterday, with a final score of 9-8. Elmhurst deposited four round-trippers against the Big Blue pitching staff and the EU bullpen held off Millikin's ninth-inning comeback attempt.

Friday's game one will mark the 100th all-time meeting between the Titans and Bluejays. Illinois Wesleyan owns the commanding 76-23 all-time series advantage over Elmhurst in a series that began in the 1988 campaign. IWU welcomed a 21-game winning streak from May 3, 2004 to May 1, 2010 to generate the commanding cushion. The Green and White took both ends of the twin bill last season by scores of 14-2 and 16-4, April 9.

In IWU's six league games thus far, four Titans are hitting at a clip of .400 or better. Junior Louis Perona (Chicago, Ill.-Lane Tech) is leading the charge with his team-leading .542 batting average, 13 hits, three doubles, eight RBI, 19 total bases, and five bases on balls.

In the CCIW leaderboard, Perona ranks second in batting average (.542), second in stolen bases (5), fifth in doubles (3), and sixth in slugging percentage (.792).

Senior Thomas Bleker (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard West) owns a .444 batting average and tops the team with his 1.434 OPS and .889 slugging percentage. In his 18 at-bats, Bleker has recorded eight hits, four RBI, two home runs, and one triple. The Lombard, Ill. native sits second in slugging percentage (.889) and fifth in batting average (.444) in the CCIW rankings.

Junior Evan Hutson (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) and sophomore Tristan Figus (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) own batting averages of .421 and .400, respectively.

As a unit, the IWU offense ranks fourth in team batting average (.281). North Central College owns the highest team batting average (.320) in their eight league games.

In the teams six CCIW games thus far, the Illinois Wesleyan pitching staff has upped its game compared to the non-conference slate. IWU owns the third-lowest team ERA (4.59) in conference contests, while Millikin leads the way with a 2.22 team ERA.

Sophomore Dalen Banks (Springfield, Ill.-Springfield), who was named CCIW Pitcher of the Week, Monday, April 10 after his eight inning performance against Carthage, holds a 2-0 record in his two CCIW starts. In his 15 innings of work, Banks has surrendered three earned runs and has fanned 15 hitters.

Out of the bullpen, sophomore Lukas Wenz (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley) tossed 5.2 innings of work in CCIW play, highlighted by his 4.0 inning performance against Carthage to earn the victory.

Live stats and a live video will be available for both ends of the home double dip, while live stats will be made available for Saturday's contest. Live stats for the entire series can be accessed here, while Friday's live video can be found here.

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