Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Jalen Ping Hitting Against Carroll on May 11, 2023
7
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 21-22
5
North Central (Ill.) NCC 27-14
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
21-22
7
Final
5
North Central (Ill.) NCC
27-14
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 7 10 3
North Central (Ill.) NCC 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 13 1

W: Smith, Aiden (1-1) L: Jensik, CJ (0-1) S: Costello, Luke (3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Wins Third Straight Elimination Game to Advance to CCIW Tournament Championship Series

Will need to beat Augustana twice tomorrow

MOLINE, Ill. - The Cinderella story continues, as the five-seed Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team won its third straight elimination game in two days to punch its ticket to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament championship series, Friday night, May 12 at Swanson Stadium in Moline, Ill. IWU defeated the second-seeded North Central College Cardinals by the final score of 7-5. The Green and White will need to defeat the host, the top-seeded and 17th-ranked, Augustana College Vikings twice tomorrow to claim the CCIW Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

This will mark the first time the Titans will appear in the league championship since 2019.

With the win, IWU's record sits at 21-22, while NCC, who will need an at-large bid to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament, own a record of 27-14.

Picking up where he left off earlier today, junior Jacob Cyrus (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) got the Titans on the board in the top of the first with a two-out RBI single right up the middle. Junior Louis Perona (Chicago, Ill.-Lane Tech), who drew a walk earlier in the inning, came around to score on the base knock to give the Green and White the early, 1-0, advantage. 

NCC tallied a pair of runs, on two hits, in the bottom of the first to snag the 2-1 lead after the first inning of action. 

After being on the receiving end of three walks in a span of four batters, IWU loaded the bases with only one out in the second. With the golden opportunity, senior Jalen Ping (Chatham, Ill.-Glenwood) barreled a loud single to center, which allowed senior Thomas Bleker (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard West) and junior Dino Biggers (Naperville, Ill.-Naperville Central) to race to give the Titans the 3-2 lead. 

Still in the second, Perona used his speed to beat out an infield single to push across another run. After one and a half, the Green and White generated a 4-2 advantage. 

Senior Ethan Burgh (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) led off the third with a double in the left center gap. However, NCC was able to retire the next three Titans as IWU failed to add to their advantage. After two and a half, the Green and White were out in front by a score of 4-2. 

North Central recorded one run in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 4-3. Inheriting runners on the corners with only one out in, senior Aiden Smith (Marengo, Ill.-Marengo) induced two weak fly balls to thwart any further damage. 

The Cardinals tied the game, at 4-4, on an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. 

With the nail biting action ensuing, Illinois Wesleyan grabbed the lead, 5-4, in the sixth. With runners on first and second and no outs, Perona laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners up a bag. Stepping up to the plate, sophomore Tristan Figus (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) grounded out to the NCC second baseman as Biggers scored easily. 

IWU padded its lead in the seventh with a key insurance run. After Burgh notched his second two-bagger of the game and scooted to third on a wild pitch, sophomore Jimmy Gurgone (Mokena, Ill.-St. Laurence) connected on a sacrifice fly to center to push the Green and White's lead to 6-4. 

The Titans recorded another insurance run in the eighth on a Cardinal miscue to widen the cushion to 7-4.

North Central scored once in the bottom of the ninth, but IWU was able to complete the upset by the final score of 7-5.

Logging action for the second time today, freshman Southpaw Luke Costello (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove South) came out of the Titan bullpen and threw the final four frames to shut down the potent North Central offense. Costello welcomed his third save of the season, and second in less than 10 hours.

Aiden Smith was credited with the win (1-1) with his two and two-thirds innings pitched out of the bullpen.

North Central outhit Illinois Wesleyan by a final tally of 13-10. Ping and Burgh each recorded a pair of hits to lead the Titans offense. Ping notched two RBI, while Burgh blasted a pair of doubles.

The Green and White will tangle with Augustana College tomorrow, Saturday, May 13 in the league championship series. The two teams will square off at 11 a.m. tomorrow. If IWU wins, then the winner-take-all game will be played at 2:30 p.m.

 
Print Friendly Version