Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
The Carthage College baseball team (12-8, 4-2 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 20th in the April 6 “D3baseball.com” poll, split a Saturday, April 10 doubleheader with CCIW-opponent Illinois Wesleyan University (10-10, 5-2) at the Carthage Baseball Field in Kenosha, Wis. Illinois Wesleyan won the first game, 15-4, but Carthage took the nightcap by a 12-4 margin. The two teams conclude the three-game set with a Noon contest on Sunday, April 11, also at the Carthage Baseball Field.
In the opening game, Illinois Wesleyan's Casey McIntosh hit a solo home run in the first inning off starting pitcher Mario Perez to put IWU up, 1-0. In the bottom half, Trevor Whately doubled the first pitch he saw off the leftfield fence and took third base on a throwing error. Tyler Eickmeyer's infield single scored Whately. Eickmeyer advanced on a single and fielder's choice and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Will Hodges to give Carthage a 2-1 lead.
Ryan Hopp hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Titans a 3-2 lead. The Red Men came right back with a two-run single by Joey Aiello in the bottom of the second to take a 4-3 edge. IWU went back up, 5-4, in the third on RBI-singles by Kevin Callahan and Ryan Hopp. The Titans bumped their lead to 11-4 with a six-run fourth inning. The Titans scored on a two-run double by McIntosh, an RBI-double by Mark McDermott, an RBI-single by Kraig Ladd, a throwing error by third baseman Josh Albers and a run-scoring single by Jeff Grodecki.
Mario Perez gave way to Bryan Kieffer in the sixth, and the righty reliever was welcomed to the game with RBI-singles by Grodecki and Zach Scott to up the Titans' lead to 13-4. IWU's lead went 15-4 in the seventh on a fielder's choice-RBI off the bat of Mark McDermott and a base-loaded walk to Grodecki. Perez (2-3) allowed 12 runs, nine earned, on 11 hits and three walks over five and two-thirds innings. Jason Pankau (5-0) was the winning pitcher. He allowed four runs on 10 hits and three walks over seven innings. Casey McIntosh went four-for-five with four runs scored and three RBI for the Titans, while Ryan Hopp went three-for-three with three RBI. Joey Aiello led the Red Men by going two-for-four with two RBI. Carthage infielder Drew Roberts was hit by a pitch, in the face, in the second inning. He suffered some broken bones in the nose and cheekbone and will miss the rest of the season.
In the nightcap, Illinois Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI-single by Kevin Callahan. The Red Men tied the game, 1-1, in the third on an RBI-single by Joey Aiello. Carthage took a 6-1 lead in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Aiello, Will Hodges and Josh Albers, along with a two-run double by Tim Hansen. The Titans got three of those runs back in the sixth on a three-run homer by Zach Scott to cut the lead to 6-4. Carthage took a 12-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run double by Nate Hughes, an RBI-triple by Will Hodges, an RBI-single by Josh Albers and a two-run homer by Tim Hansen.
Red Men hurler Chris Krepline (4-0) went the distance in the second game and limited Illinois Wesleyan to four unearned runs on nine hits and a walk over nine innings. Brent Kulavic (0-1), the first of three Titans pitchers, took the loss. Kulavic allowed 12 runs, all earned, on 16 hits and a walk over five and two-thirds innings. Tim Hansen went four-for-five with four RBI, while Will Hodges went three-for-five with three RBI.
