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Flagg swinging back Grinnell
16
Winner Illinois Wesleyan IWU 1-0
5
Grinnell College GCBB 0-1
Winner
Illinois Wesleyan IWU
1-0
16
Final
5
Grinnell College GCBB
0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 0 3 0 0 0 0 10 0 3 16 19 1
Grinnell College GCBB 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 5 12 2

W: Hartman, Brady (1-0) L: S. Goel (0-1)

12
Winner Grinnell College GCBB 1-1
4
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 1-1
Winner
Grinnell College GCBB
1-1
12
Final
4
Illinois Wesleyan IWU
1-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Grinnell College GCBB 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 6 0 12 11 1
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 X 4 10 2

W: J. Runkel (1-0) L: Davidsmeier, Will (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Titans Split Season Opener Doubleheader Against Grinnell

Kellar earns first career win

GREENVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team opened the season Sunday, Feb. 23 with a neutral site doubleheader against Grinnell College at Robert E. Smith Field in Greenville, Ill. The Titans split with the Pioneers, moving both teams to 1-1 on the young season. Head Coach Michael Kellar claimed his first win at the helm of the Titans. 

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 16, Grinnell 5

The Titans got out ahead early with big hits in the top of the second inning. Senior Tristan Figus (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) started IWU off with an early triple just before junior Jack Flagg (River Forest, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) hit the ball past the fences on his first at bat of the season and the first home run for the Green and White. Illinois Wesleyan continued its hot hitting streak with senior Jimmy Gurgone (Mokena, Ill.-St. Laurence) notching a single to right field and promptly stole second. Junior Tommy Willard (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove South) hit the ball just short of the fences in left center to bring in Gurgone, giving the Titans a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second. 

The Pioneers quickly answered back, scoring its own run in the bottom of the second and picked up two more in the fourth to level the score at 3-3. 

Illinois Wesleyan saw themselves in a sticky situation with Grinnell having bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth with no outs. The TItan infield produced a clutch double play to set up junior pitcher Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) with two outs where the veteran pitcher closed out the inning with a strikeout to keep the score even. 

Titan baseball saw its first deficit in the bottom of the sixth when Grinnell scored two more to put the Pioneers ahead 5-3. 

Illinois Wesleyan totaled nine hits in the seventh inning, generating eight runs to regain a 13-5 advantage over the Pioneers. Willard placed a double to right center to kickoff the seventh inning. Senior Justin Gadomski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) hit the ball right center for a double to bring Willard in. The Titans continued with bases loaded in the seventh to see senior Tyler Woltman (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton North) take a hit-by-pitch, bringing home Gadomski to tie up the game at 5-5.

With bases still loaded in the seventh inning, the Titans looked to Figus to keep the inning alive. Figus doubled to left center to run sophomore John Philip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) and senior Cade Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill.-Pittsfield) in to take the lead, 7-5. 

Doubles from Flagg, Gurgone, and sophomore Jack Novak (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) and a single from Willard brought in six more runs in the seventh inning, stretching the lead to 13-5. 

Junior Gage Wolfe (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) made his first appearance as a Titan in the top of the ninth, hitting a two-bagger into right center. Freshman Matt Hudik (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) made his collegiate debut hitting a double in the same spot to add another run to the IWU lead. Gadomski ended the game with a two-run home run to see the Titans come out on top, 16-5, in game one. 

Senior pitcher Brady Hartman (Milan, Ill.-Sherrard) was awarded the win, claiming a 1-0 record to start the season. 

The Green and White totaled 11 doubles in the season opener, beating the single-game doubles record, previously set at eight, back in 2007. IWU had 19 hits to GC's 12 and had only one error to the Pioneers two.

Game two: Illinois Wesleyan 4 , Grinnell 12

The second half of the doubleheader with Grinnell began with three scoreless innings before Grinnell went on a 6-0 run in the top of the fourth. 

IWU didn't see any runs until the seventh inning when Novak doubled down the left line to run Willard in for the Titans first run of the game. Novak scored to end the seventh to bring the Titans back within four at 6-2.  

Woltman started off the eighth inning with a single down the right field line and advanced to third on Figus's double to right center. RBIs from Flagg and Williard brought home Woltman and Figus to sit 6-4 headed into the ninth. Grinnell scored six more in the ninth to end the game 12-4 in favor of the Pioneers. 

GC beat IWU out by one hit, 11-10, with the Titans holding one more error than the Pioneers (2-1).

Junior Will Davidsmeier (Virginia, Ill.-Beardstown) took the loss in the Titans' second game as his record falls to 0-1. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan takes on Greenville University Monday, Feb. 24. The Titans will be back in Greenville, Ill. on Robert E. Smith Field for a 2 p.m. matchup with the Panthers. 
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