WAUKESHA, Wis. – Behind a dominant start on the mound and timely offense, the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team defeated Carroll University 6-3 on Tuesday, April 30, in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin road matchup. With the win, the Titans improve to 23-13 on the season and 13-4 in conference while the Pioneers fall to 16-21 and are 7-13 in the CCIW.
Junior Jake Pullam (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine) delivered a quality outing for the Green and White, earning the start and tossing seven strong innings. Pullam kept the Pioneers in check, allowing just one run while striking out seven. Junior Luke Costello (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove South) took over in relief and was equally effective, pitching the final 1.2 innings and adding two strikeouts to close the door on any hopes of a comeback.
At the plate, senior Cade Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill.-Pittsfield) and sophomore John Philip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) led the way for IWU. Both finished 2-for-5 on the day, with Tomhave scoring two runs and Ferraro turning in a monster offensive performance—scoring twice and driving in five RBIs, including a crucial home run late in the game.
Carroll got on the board first in the bottom of the second with a solo home run, taking an early 1-0 lead. However, IWU responded swiftly in the top of the third. Freshman Matt Hudik (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) was hit by a pitch to open the inning, and senior Justin Gadomski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) followed with a single to right. Tomhave then laid down a bunt and reached safely on an error by the Pioneers' first baseman, loading the bases with no outs. Ferraro stepped up and delivered a clutch bases-clearing double to right field, flipping the score in IWU's favor, 3-1.
The Titans weren't done in the frame though, as junior Gage Wolfe (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) added to the rally with a sharply hit single down the left field line, to bring home Ferraro and push the lead to 4-1.
Both teams went quiet offensively until the top of the seventh. Tomhave got things started again with a single to right field, and Ferraro followed by launching a two-run homer over the right-field fence—his second extra-base hit of the day—giving IWU a commanding 6-1 lead.
Carroll attempted to mount a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth, scoring two runs to cut the deficit to 6-3. However, Costello remained poised on the mound and finished the job, securing the Titans' third win in their last four games.
Illinois Wesleyan will look to carry the momentum into the weekend as it returns to conference play Friday afternoon against Carthage College. The game is set for 1 p.m. Friday, May 2 at Augie Schmidt Field.
