JP Ferraro and Matt Cantrell breaking huddle

Baseball Navigates North for Series with Carroll

Teams will play doubleheader Friday & single game Saturday

4/2/2026 1:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team will go on its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin road trip visiting Carroll University this weekend, Friday-Saturday, April 3-4. IWU will put its 5-13 overall record and 2-1 league mark to the test, while CU comes into the series with a 13-9 mark and an even 2-2 ledger in conference play.

Due to scheduled rain in Waukesha, the two will play a doubleheader Friday beginning at 1 p.m., with the second game to follow. The series finale will take place at 1 p.m Saturday, as the three-game set will be played at Frame Park.

Since rejoining the CCIW in the 2017 season, Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll have faced off 24 times with IWU holding a commanding 18-6 advantage over the Pioneers. The Green and White won seven straight games from 2017-2019 before the Pios flipped the script and won five out of the next six contests. Currently, IWU is on another seven-game win streak over CU, out-scoring the Pios 54-18 during the streak. Head Coach Michael Kellar is 2-0 against the Orange and Blue, sweeping the home-and-home bouts last year to start and conclude the month of April. Illinois Wesleyan took care of business a year ago behind 11-4 and 6-3 scores.

Five Titans in the batting order have 20+ hits through the first 18 games. Sophomore AJ Weller (Geneseo, Ill.-Geneseo) leads the category with 25 knocks to pair with a .347 batting average. Junior John Philip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) and sophomore Ben Ford (Naperville, Ill.-Waubonsie Valley) have tallied 25 hits each with a .352 and a .347 average, respectively. Senior Jack Flagg (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) and sophomore Matt Hudik (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) round out the top five in hits with 22 and 21 each. Hudik controls a .309 average and Flagg a .297.

IWU has made strides on the mound, winning its last four-of-six games. Senior Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) paces the Titans with a 5.06 earned run average. He blanked No. 22 Millikin University his last time out, striking out eight over 6.2 innings. The pitching staff's unsung hero in the series finale with the Big Blue was sophomore Cade Addis (Fairbury, Ill.-Praire Central) who earned his first career win finishing the final 2.1 innings.

The three-game series featuring the Titans and Pios will begin at 1 p.m. Friday, with the second game to follow. Saturday's first pitch will also be at 1 p.m. with live stats and a live stream available. Live stats can be found here, while a live stream can be found here.

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