Game #1 Box Score
Game #2 Box Score
The Carthage College baseball team (14-9, 6-3 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 28th in the April 13 “D3baseball.com” poll, split a Wednesday, April 14 doubleheader with CCIW-opponent and No. 24 Wheaton College (Ill., 19-9, 6-3 CCIW) at the Carthage Baseball Field in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage won the first game, 11-1, but Wheaton (Ill.) took the nightcap by a 14-5 margin.
In the opening game, Wheaton took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Trey Martin's RBI-grounder. Carthage took a 4-1 lead in the bottom half. Nate Hughes hit an RBI-single, scoring Josh Albers, who led off with a double. Bill Herrin walked, and Trevor Whately followed with a three-run home run. The Red Men made it a 7-1 game in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Joey Aiello and a two-run single by Tim Hansen. Carthage loaded the bases on walks to Will Hodges and Josh Albers, but Wheaton turned a double play to avoid further damage.
Carthage scored four times in the eighth. Joey Aiello hit a two-run double, and both Tyler Eickmeyer and Joey Aiello scored on wild pitches. The second wild pitch gave the Red Men an 11-1 lead, and the game was called due to a 10-run rule. Chadd Ori (1-0), making his first start of the year, went the distance and allowed just one run on seven hits and walk. Jimmy McDonald (1-1), the first of three Thunder hurlers, took the loss. Trevor Whately went three-for-four with a home run and three RBI for the Red Men.
In the nightcap, Wheaton took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI-single by Drew Golz. Justin Zeller's solo homer in the third, along with an RBI-single by Danny Pyne, gave the Thunder a 3-0 advantage. Wheaton proceeded to load the bases, but Carthage pitcher Nic Jensen got Charlie Antal on a called third strike. The Red Men's Zach Tavs connected on a solo home run in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 3-1. Wheaton took a 6-1 lead in the fourth on run-scoring singles by Brian Kolb, Drew Golz and Danny Pyne. Carthage got a run back in the fifth on an RBI-triple by Joey Aiello. Josh Weavers' three-run homer in the seventh upped the Thunder's lead to 9-2.
Zach Kozlowski hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh to narrow the margin to 9-3. Josh Weaver singled in two more runs in the eighth to put the Thunder up, 11-3, and another run scored on a double play for a 12-3 margin. Matt Soderlund connected on a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to shave the Wheaton lead to 12-5. The Thunder scored two in the ninth on an base-loaded infield error, making the final score 14-5.
Wheaton pitcher Eric Albaugh (4-0) picked up his second win over Carthage this month. Albaugh allowed five runs on 14 hits but struck out six batters. Nic Jensen (0-1), the first of five Red Men hurlers, took the loss. Jensen gave up five runs, four earned, on seven hits and four walks over the first three innings. Brett McQuade, Andy Pucher, Danny Dahm and Scott Danly followed. Wheaton's Josh Weaver went four-for-seven with five RBI. Carthage's Joey Aiello had four hits in five trips with a double and a triple.
On Saturday-Sunday, April 17-18, Carthage plays a three-game set with conference-opponent and No. 35 North Central College (Ill., 18-4, 7-2 CCIW). The two teams play a Noon doubleheader on Saturday, April 17 at Zimmerman Stadium/Alumni Field in Naperville, Ill., followed by a Sunday, April 18 single game at the Carthage Baseball Field in Kenosha, Wis., beginning at 1 p.m.
