AUBURNDALE, Fla - Behind one of the most explosive offensive performances the program has seen, the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team overpowered Stockton University, 21-6, in eight innings Sunday, March 10. IWU cranked out 21 runs on 24 hits as the Green and White posted its highest hit total since 2016 and the most runs in a game since 2017.
Illinois Wesleyan wasted little time taking control, as the Titans pounced for four runs in each of the first two innings. Senior Louis Perona (Chicago, Ill.-Lane Tech) opened the game with a triple to the left-center gap and came around to score on junior
Justin Gadomski's (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) RBI single. Junior
Tristan Figus (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) and senior
Jacob Cyrus (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) added run-scoring base knocks, before junior
Cade Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill.-Pittsfield) brought home a run on a groundout.
After a 1-2-3 start from sophomore Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), IWU used five hits to double its lead in the second. Perona drew a one-out walk and swiped second before Gadomski's double to center brought him home. Figus followed with an RBI single to bring Gadomski in from second, before Cyrus clubbed his second home run of the season. Cyrus' two-run round-tripper pushed IWU's lead to 8-0 after one and a half innings.
Stockton scratched the scoreboard for one in the bottom of the second as a one-out walk broke up the shutout. Back-to-back walks put a runner in scoring position, allowing a single up the middle to cut IWU's lead to 8-1 after two.
The Titans got three runs back in third, using three hits and an error to do so. Another two-bagger from Gadomski along with a double from Figus scored a pair of runs before an error pushed IWU leads to double-digits, 11-1.
The Ospreys manufactured three runs on two hits in the third, but the Green and White came back with a two-run fifth. Continuing his strong day at the plate, Cyrus roped a one-out single to center and quickly moved into scoring position with a steal of second. Tomhave and sophomore Jack Flagg (River Forest, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) capped the inning with back-to-back RBI doubles to extend the Illinois Wesleyan lead to 13-4 into the bottom of the fifth.
A pair of hit batters sparked Stockton in the fifth, as the Ospreys struck for two runs on a hit, an error, a walk, and two HBPs.
Leading 13-6 into the seventh, Tomhave ripped a two-run single up the middle to score Figus and Cyrus, who began the frame with back-to-back hits.
Following a 1-2-3 inning in relief from senior Josh Ralston (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East), Perona cranked his second homer of the season in the eighth. IWU tacked on two more runs before Flagg's bases loaded double gave the Green and White a 21-6 advantage.
IWU's strong offensive showing saw nine players register a hit, with seven tallying multiple. Cyrus led the way with a 5-for-6 effort that included three RBIs, four runs scored, a homer, and two stolen bases. His five hits are tied for the second-most in program history and are the most by a Titan since Brandon Skopick tallied five against Hamilton College March 14, 2018.
Figus finished 4-for-5 with a team-best five runs scored to go along with three drive in. Perona finished a double shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a homer, while Gadomski and Tomhave also notched three hits apiece. Flagg tallied a team-best four RBIs in a 2-for-3 performance.
On the mound, the Green and White utilized five arms. Shamhart got the start, striking out two over 2.1 innings, while fifth-year Aiden Smith (Marengo, Ill.-Marengo), Ralston, and senior
Luke Uhwat (Spring Grove, Ill.-Richmond-Burton) combined to throw four scoreless innings to close out the win.
Illinois Wesleyan has a quick turnaround as the Titans take on the University of Saint Joseph's (Maine) tomorrow morning, March 10, at 9:15 a.m. ET on the main field at Lake Myrtle Park.
