BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team will start on the road for a weekend series with College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe Carthage College before taking the Firebirds on in a doubleheader at home. The single game on Friday, May 2 will begin at 1 p.m. at Augie Schmidt Field before coming back home Saturday, May 3 for games at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at Jack Horenberger Field. The winner of the series will determine the outright CCIW Regular Season Champion, earning the No. 1 seed and hosting rights to the CCIW Tournament. Carthage (28-9, 14-3 CCIW) currently sits first in the conference, while IWU brings in an overall record of 23-13, and is 13-4 in CCIW action.

The Titans are coming off a victory where IWU took on Carroll University, winning 6-3 on the road Wednesday, April 30. Junior Jake Pullam (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine) delivered a quality outing for IWU, earning the start and tossing seven strong innings en route to the win. 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. The sophomore drove in five RBIs, as well as crossing home twice himself, including a crucial home run late in the game.

IWU and Carthage have a history dating back to 1989, with the Green and White holding a slim lead in the all-time series record, 60-53. The Firebirds swept the regular season series last season, 2-0, and ended Illinois Wesleyan's season in the conference tournament with a score of 7-4.

Senior Justin Gadomski (Schaumburg, lll.-Schaumburg) sits at the top of the leaderboard in batting average (.406), slugging percentage (.679), OPS (1.123), hits (67), at bats (165), and doubles (26). His 26 two-baggers also lead all of Division III this season. Freshman Matt Hudik (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) found himself at the top of the leaderboard in sacrifice bunts (7), as well as on base percentage (.500). 

 Live stats and live stream can be found on iwusports.com under baseball's schedule page.