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Matt Hudik batting vs. Millikin 3-28-26
Luigi Lam
8
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 5-14
10
Winner Carroll (Wis.) CARROLL 14-9
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
5-14
8
Final
10
Carroll (Wis.) CARROLL
14-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 8 16 2
Carroll (Wis.) CARROLL 2 0 0 0 6 0 0 2 X 10 12 0

W: Chayce Schultz (1-0) L: Martinez, Caleb (0-3)

8
Winner Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 5-14
3
Carroll (Wis.) CARROLL 14-9
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
5-14
8
Final
3
Carroll (Wis.) CARROLL
14-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 8 14 3
Carroll (Wis.) CARROLL 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 1

W: Hammond, Myles (1-0) L: Tyler Fredrick (2-4)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Battles to Split at Carroll

Rubber match scheduled for 1 p.m. tomorrow, April 4

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Illinois Wesleyan University's baseball team began the weekend with a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin split at Carroll University Friday, April 3. The Titans battled back from a crushing 10-8 loss in game one to grab an 8-3 win in game two and boost their record to 6-14 overall and 3-2 in CCIW play. The Pios dipped to 14-10 on the year (3-3 CCIW).

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 8, Carroll 10
A six-run fifth by the Pioneers spurned the Titans in the series opener. Illinois Wesleyan led 6-2 into the bottom of the fifth, but were ultimately sacked with a 10-8 loss.

After Carroll used a two-run homer to take the lead in the first inning, junior Jack Novak (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) ripped a two-run double to right to knot the game. Sophomore Matt Hudik (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) dropped a single in left to score senior Gage Wolfe (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) and lift IWU to a 3-2 advantage. 

A run-scoring double by sophomore AJ Weller (Geneseo, Ill.-Geneseo) and RBI groundouts from sophomores Ben Ford (Naperville, Ill.-Waubonsie Valley) and Michael Gurgone (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) followed to extend the Green and White's cushion to four, 6-2, into the bottom of the fifth.

Carroll's bats caught fire in the fifth as the first eight Pioneers reached base behind hits, an error, and a walk. After an RBI single and two-run double, Carroll's Joey Appino delivered a single to left to put the home team in front, 7-6. A fielder's choice brought home one more run before senior Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) stranded the bases loaded.

Junior Caleb Martinez (Wheeling, Ill.-Wheeling) faced the minimum over the next two innings as IWU trailed by two, 8-6, into the eighth. 

Novak drove a 1-0 offering into left to leadoff Illinois Wesleyan's half of the inning as Wolfe stepped to the plate. Staring down a 2-0 count, Wolfe liked what he saw and whacked a two-run blast over the right field fence to tie the game at eight.

Carroll clapped back with two runs of its own in its next trip to the plate as a two-out single scored Eddie Synek, who reached with a five-pitch walk. A wild pitch followed by a single scored CU's 10th run to give the home team a two-run edge into IWU's final at bats.

Ford gave IWU life with a leadoff triple, but was called out at the plate on a sacrifice fly attempt. A groundout ended the Titans' comeback in a 10-8 defeat.

Illinois Wesleyan notched 16 hits in the game. Hudik went 3-for-4 in the leadoff spot and Wolfe matched him in the eight-hole. Four other Titans tallied two hits apiece, while Novak and Wolfe registered two RBIs each.

Shamhart started the game and left with a no-decision after five innings of work. He struck out two, while allowing eight runs on nine hits. Martinez (0-3) tagged for two runs on three hits in relief, pitching the final three innings. 

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 8, Carroll 3
Illinois Wesleyan struck first in the second game, as Wolfe drove in senior Jack Flagg (River Forest, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) on an RBI groundout to the right side, but an error and a two-run homer catapulted Carroll in front, 3-1, into the fifth.

The Titans produced two runs in the top of the seventh. Weller doubled with one away and Ford singled to put runners on the corners for junior John Phillip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest). Behind in the count 1-2, Ferraro laced a single to right to bring Weller across home plate and force Carroll to turn to the bullpen. The pitching change manufactured another run as Flagg and Novak walked, with Novak's coming with the bases loaded, to tie the score, 3-3. 

Carroll reached back into the bullpen after the back-to-back base on balls, but IWU kept at it. Freshman Anthony Batshon (Homer Glen, Ill.-Lockport Township) pushed a sacrifice fly into center, bringing home Ferraro for a 4-3 edge.

Illinois Wesleyan ran into some trouble in the bottom half of the seventh as a walk, single, and an error loaded the bases with one out. After getting the second out of the inning, sophomore Brennan Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill.-Pittsfield) issued a walk to reload the bases. The hard-throwing righty refocused though, needing just three pitches to send the next batter down looking and escape the inning unscathed. Tomhave stranded bases loaded to send IWU back to the plate clinging to a one-run cushion.

The Green and White offense went on the attack in the eighth plating four insurance runs. Gurgone reached on an error and made his way to third on a groundout and Weller single. With Ford at the dish, Weller swiped second to put two in scoring position and Ford took full advantage. The sophomore smashed a single to center bringing home two to open up a 6-3 IWU lead. After Ferraro kept the inning rolling with a single, Flagg dumped a run-scoring double into right. Ferraro finished the inning with a run on a wild pitch to stretch the lead to five, 8-3. 

Tomhave closed out the win, but it was far from uneventful as the Pios put two on with one out in the bottom of the eighth. A ground ball to third was fielded and tossed to first for out number two and Tomhave ended an eight-pitch at bat with a strikeout.

In the ninth, IWU was in good position to tack on a few more runs but a line out thwarted a bases loaded chance. Tomhave strutted back out to the mound to close out the game and did just that, getting a three-pitch punchout and then a fly out to secure the win.

The Titans churned out 14 hits in the game, led by Ford's 4-for-5 performance. Weller, Ferraro, Hudik, and Flagg added two hits apiece. 

Sophomore Cole Benson (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) got the start and fanned six Pios over 5.2 innings of work. He limited CU to three runs on five hits, with just one earned run allowed. Freshman Myles Hammond (Lakewood, Ill.-Shelbyville) tossed the final two-thirds of the sixth to come away with the win. Tomhave put together a gutsy performance en route to a save, throwing the final 2.2 innings. He tallied five strikeouts in a scoreless outing while yielding two hits.

The series finale between the Titans and Pios is scheduled for tomorrow, April 4, in Waukesha, Wis. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Frame Park.
 
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