Eli Kieser and Anthony Batchon wait at third base with head coach Michael Kellar

Luigi Lam

Baseball Hosts Pair of Midweeks

Titans attract birds to Bloomington, face Eagles and Bluejays

4/13/2026 2:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team enters a big week with four games on deck, starting with Benedictine University Tuesday, April 14, and College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opponent Elmhurst University Wednesday, April 15, both at Horenberger Field. The showdowns against both the Eagles and Bluejays are scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Green and White enter Tuesday's game with a 8-17 mark and a 4-5 stamp in CCIW play, after a 2-2 showing a week ago. Benedictine checks in at 12-16, after a six-game week in which it went 2-4. Elmhurst, who IWU took down last Wednesday, April 8, brings a 9-18 record (3-5 CCIW) to the table, sweeping Wheaton College this past weekend.

Offensively for the Titans, sophomore Ben Ford (Naperville, Ill.-Waubonsie Valley) tops the team in batting average at .364 and runs scored (21). Sophomore AJ Weller (Geneseo, Ill.-Geneseo) leads the hits category with 37, one more than Ford, and two more than junior John Philip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest). Ferraro provides the pop for IWU as the lone Titan with double digit doubles (11) to pair with 22 runs batted in.

The Illinois Wesleyan pitching staff is led by senior starter Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) and sophomore reliever Brennan Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill.-Pittsfield). Shamhart is 2-21 with eight appearances working just north of 30 innings. Tomhave starred in his outing against the Bluejays last week. He let up two hits and a run, closing out the win with three strikeouts over his two plus innings.

IWU and Benedictine will square off for the first time in 10 years, last meeting April 19, 2016. BU leads the all-time series with a 16-13-1 record, with the tie coming in 2001. Hosting the Eagles, the Titans are 8-5 mark but 0-9 on the road in Lisle, Ill. Illinois Wesleyan last beat Benedictine in 2015 with a final of 5-0. IWU and Benedictine will meet for the sixth straight time in the month of April.

The Green and White meet a familiar face in Elmhurst for the second time in a week. IWU picked up its 81st win against EU Wednesday, April 8 in Elmhurst, Ill. With the win, the Titans drove their win streak to four over the Bluejays, as head coach Michael Kellar is unbeaten against EU. Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to a big series lead from 2004-2010 thanks to a 21-game win streak against the Bluejays. The Titan offense has put up eight or more runs in the past four games against EU, and double digits in three of the four.

Action from Horenberger field will take place at 6 p.m. against Benedictine Tuesday, April 14, as well as Wednesday, April 15 against Elmhurst. Fans can follow along with both live stats and a live stream on the baseball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

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