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Evan Hutson Hitting Against North Park on April 2, 2023
Kodiak Creative
4
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 6-14
2
Carthage Carthage 7-12
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
6-14
4
Final
2
Carthage Carthage
7-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 4 7 1
Carthage Carthage 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 4

W: Banks, Dalen (5-0) L: B. Schaum (2-4) S: Pullam, Jake (1)

10
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 7-14
5
Carthage Carthage 7-13
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
7-14
10
Final
5
Carthage Carthage
7-13
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 3 10 11 2
Carthage Carthage 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 13 4

W: Wenz, Lukas (1-1) L: N. Hamilton (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Two-Out Hits Propel Baseball to Sweep of Carthage

CCIW record sits at 3-2

KENOSHA, WIS. - The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team earned a sweep of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival Carthage College, Friday, April 7 in Kenosha, Wis. After being down in both contests, key two-out hits pushed the Titans over the Firebirds by final scores of 4-2 and 10-5, respectively. With the sweep, the Green and White's record upped to 7-14 (3-2 CCIW), while Carthage's record slipped to 7-13 (2-4 CCIW). 

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 4, Carthage 2
The Firebirds cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the third with a solo home run to left to generate the 1-0 lead.

IWU tallied a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to take the 2-1 advantage. Senior Thomas Bleker (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard West), who reached on a Firebird throwing error to lead off the frame, came around to score on a Carthage balk to tie the score at 1-1. With a runner on third, and two outs, junior Evan Hutson (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) laced a single to left, which allowed senior Jalen Ping (Chatham, Ill.-Glenwood) to jog home to give the Titans a 2-1 cushion heading to the bottom of the fifth. 

Entering the contest as a pinch hitter in the eighth, sophomore Tristan Figus (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) made the most of his opportunity by driving a double down the right field line. The double, which came with two outs, pushed across a key insurance run as sophomore Jimmy Gurgone (Mokena, Ill.-St. Laurence) scampered home. Figus, who attempted to tally IWU's fourth run on a Bleker single, was denied at the plate by the Firebird left fielder to preserve the 3-1 advantage, in favor of the Titans. 

Carthage recorded their second run of the contest in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Green and White pushed their lead to two as Hutson recorded his second RBI on a sacrifice fly to generate a score of 4-2 as the game progressed to the bottom of the ninth.

CC brought the game-winning run to the plate in the ninth, but the Titan bullpen was able to shut the door to preserve the 4-2 victory. 

IWU outhit Carthage by a final tally of 7-6. Seven different Titans recorded a hit, with Hutson recording a pair of RBI.

Sophomore Dalen Banks (Springfield, Ill.-Springfield) set new career-highs with 10 strikeouts and eight innings pitched in the victory to up his record to 5-0. Banks' double-digit strikeout tally marked the first time a Titan pitcher has struck out 10+ batters since Jacob Duffy did so on April 9 of last year against Elmhurst. Banks allowed two runs, one earned, while scattering five hits. 

Freshman Jake Pullam (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine) earned his first career save with a strikeout to end the contest.

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 10, Carthage 5
Bleker, wasting no time getting the Titans on the board, deposited a leadoff round-tripper over the left field fence to welcome the quick, 1-0, lead after a half inning of action.

Carthage tallied three runs in the first and one in the second to take the 4-1 advantage.

Adding to his stellar day at the dish, Hutson roped a single through the left side to push Perona to the plate to cut the deficit to 4-2 after four and a half innings of play.

The Green and White put three runs on the board in the seventh to take the slim, 5-4, advantage. Senior Ethan Burgh (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) manufactured a sacrifice fly to put IWU within a run, 4-3. On the sacrifice fly, Ping, who reached on a fielding error earlier in the frame, scored his 20th run of the season. The Titans manufactured the tying and go-ahead runs on back-to-back bases loaded walks as Gurgone and sophomore Keenan Burgos (Park Ridge, Ill.-Niles Notre Dame) earned the RBIs to give IWU the 5-4 lead.

With two outs, the Titans pushed across two big insurance runs to generate a 7-4 lead in the top of the eighth. The inning was highlighted by a sophomore Cade Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill.-Pittsfield) RBI single through the right side. 

The Firebirds scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to cut the score to 7-5, in favor of IWU.

The Green and White assembled three, two out, runs in the top of the ninth on an RBI single from Perona and a two RBI double to right off the bat of Burgh to extend the cushion to 10-5. 

Junior Jacob Cyrus (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) fended off the Firebird comeback as IWU took the 10-5 victory.

Carthage outhit the Titans by a final tally of 13-11. Perona led the offense with his 3-for-4 performance, while Ping and Hutson each recorded two hit nightcaps. Burgh was credited with three RBI, while Tomhave knocked in a pair. 

On the bump, junior Luke Uhwat (Spring Grove, Ill.-Richmond-Burton) earned the start. Uhwat tossed three innings of work and earned a no-decision. Sophomore Lukas Wenz (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley) notched the win (1-1) out of the bullpen. Wenz toed the rubber for four innings, where he allowed three hits and struck out a pair in his runless outing.

The Green and White will see a quick turnaround with a home contest, tomorrow, April 7 against CCIW foe Millikin University. First pitch between the Titans and Big Blue is set for 12 p.m. at Horenberger Field in Bloomington.

 
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