Carthage 2, Muskingum 1
Carthage 4, Muskingum 1

The Carthage College baseball team (2-0, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), tied for 41st place in the March 8 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association /”D3baseball.com” poll, opened its 2011 season on Friday, March 11 by sweeping a doubleheader from Muskingum University (3-5), 2-1 and 4-1, at North County Regional Park in North Port, Fla.

Muskingum took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the opening game on an RBI-single by Colten Maxwell. Carthage tied the game in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by John Hasser. Meanwhile, Carthage pitcher Eric Rohe and Muskingum starter Alex Vandine dueled away into the seventh inning of the seven-inning game. The Fighting Muskies loaded the bases to open the third inning, but Rohe worked out of trouble.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Red Men's Josh Albers led off by getting hit by a pitch. He moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and designated hitter Chris D'Angelo, batting ninth, followed with a sharp single up the middle to score Albers with the game-winning run. Winning pitcher Eric Rohe (Jr., Mundelein, Ill., 1-0) allowed nine hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out two. Vandine (0-1) allowed two runs on six hits and walk, while striking out four batters.

In the nightcap, Muskingum took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Red Men freshman hurler Tyler Johansen, thanks to two singles and a pair of fielding errors by second baseman Tyler Eickmeyer and shortstop Zach Kozlowski. Fighting Muskies pitcher Ike Free blanked the Red Men for three and two-third innings before Joey Aiello broke through with a sharp single to left in the fourth.

It stayed 1-0 until the sixth inning when Carthage tied things up. Billy Herrin led off with a booming triple to right-center and scored on a passed ball. Joey Aiello followed with a single, and Muskingum coach Gregg Thompson summed Logan Addison to take over for Free. Aiello moved up to third on a walk and a fly ball and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Mitch Lochen replaced Johansen in the sixth. Carthage added a couple of insurance runs in the eighth. Joey Aiello doubled and scored on a two-base error by Fighting Muskies first baseman Colten Newell. John Hasser, who wound up at second on the play, scored on a single by Zach Kozlowski.

Tyler Johansen (Fr., Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic, 1-0) allowed only an unearned run on six hits over five innings, while walking none and striking out two. Mitch Lochen (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) picked up the save with four shutout innings. The righty surrendered just three hits and two walks, while striking out six. The loss went Ike Free (0-2), the first of three Muskingum pitchers. Carthage's Joey Aiello (Jr., Libertyville, Ill.) went three-for-four with a double, and Zach Kozlowski (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis./Sussex-Hamilton) had two hits in four trips with a double and an RBI.

The Florida weather on Friday was somewhat cool for this time of the year, with temperatures in the mid 60s. The forecast calls for temperatures to rise into the more-normal mid 70s by Saturday.

“The first game was good,” said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt IV. “We competed well. We hit a little bit early ad then kind of went into a funk. We're having a hard time adjusting to the new NCAA bats, which are dead, compared to the old ones. I was happy with our defense, and Eric Rohe did a nice job of pitching out of jams. They had him on the ropes a couple of times. It could have been an ugly game, but he pitched his way out of it. Our defensive troubles re-surfaced in the second game. It was ugly at times, but Tyler Johansen kept his composure, and Mitch Lochen pitched great. Muskingum has a nice club, but tomorrow we play a very good Marietta team with unbelievable pitching.”

The Muskingum contest kicked off the Red Men's 10-game spring trip to the “Snowbird Baseball Classic.” On Saturday, March 12, Carthage plays No. 8 Marietta College (8-1) in a 10 a.m., EST doubleheader at North County Regional Park. On Sunday, March 13, the Red Men take on Rhodes College in a Noon, EDT game at South County Regional Park in Punta Gorda, Fla. On Monday, March 14, Carthage plays No. 1 Heidelberg University at Noon, EDT, also at South County Regional Park. On Tuesday, March 15, Carthage takes on Montclair State University in a 10 a.m., EDT game at North County Regional Park. On Wednesday, March 16, the Red Men play Utica College in a 2 p.m., EDT game at North County Regional Park. Following an off-day on March 17, Carthage plays Otterbein University in a Friday, March 18 doubleheader at North County Regional Park. The trip concludes with a single game versus No. 34 Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m., also at North County Regional Park.