Game #1 Box Score
Game #2 Box Score
The Carthage College baseball team (10-6, 2-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 17th in the March 30 “D3baseball.com” poll, opened its CCIW-schedule on Friday, April 2 by winning a pair of slugfests over Elmhurst College (3-11, 0-2 CCIW) at Butterfield Park in Elmhurst, Ill., 17-6 and 25-16. On Saturday, April 3, the two teams play a Noon single game at the Carthage Baseball Field in Kenosha, Wis.
In the opening game, Carthage took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI-double by Joey Aiello and a run-scoring triple by Will Hodges. Elmhurst cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom half on an RBI-single by Nick Herrera. A two-run homer by Hodges and a two-run double by Trevor Whately n the fourth made it 6-1 Carthage. The Bluejays' Dan Matkovic hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to cut to the lead to 6-3. Carthage tacked on three runs in the fifth on an RBI-grounder by Josh Albers and a two-run single by Matt Soderlund to up by six, 9-3.
The Red Men put a seven-spot on the board in the sixth to put the game away at 16-3. Drew Roberts hit an RBI-double, Hodges a two-run double, Soderlund a sacrifice fly, Chris D'Angelo an RBI-single, Tyler Eickmeyer an RBI-double, and Whately drove in two runs with a single. Elmhurst scored two in the sixth to make it 16-5, but Joey Aiello's solo homer in the seventh put Carthage up, 17-5. The Bluejays scored a run in the seventh for the final, 17-6 score in the game, which was called after seven innings due to a 10-run rule.
Will Hodges went four-for-five in game one and hit for the cycle with five RBI. The last Carthage player to hit for the cycle was Jason Acevado versus Centenary (N.J.) on March 17, 2008. Trevor Whately went two-for-four with RBI in the 19-hit Carthage attack. Mario Perez (2-2) was the winning pitcher. Perez allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings, with Bryan Kieffer working the final two innings.
In the nightcap, Elmhurst tagged starting pitcher Scott Danly for six runs in the first inning on six singles and a double. The first six Bluejays all singled in the inning. The Red Men loaded the bases in the second, and Nate Hughes forced home a run when he was hit by a pitch. The Bluejays made it 7-1 in the second on a solo homer by Zach Hofer. The Red Men got right back into the game in the third inning, scoring five runs on four hits and three Elmhurst errors to shave the lead to 7-6. The Bluejays went up, 11-6, with four runs in the third, including a three-run homer by Brian Marquis off relief pitcher Billy Montemayor. Elmhurst made it 13-6 with two runs in the fourth, including a solo homer by Michael Kerr.
Carthage came up with four runs in the fifth to move to within three, 13-10. The Red Men tied the game in the sixth, 13-13, in the sixth on a solo home run by Matt Soderlund and a two-run double by Joey Aiello. Carthage took its first lead of the game, 15-13, in the seventh on an RBI-double by Tyler Eickmeyer and an RBI-single by Trevor Whately. The Bluejays re-gained the lead, 16-15, with three runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Chadd Ori.
Carthage scored nine times in the ninth on three home runs. After the Red Men loaded the bases on a single, a walk and a hit batter, and Trevor Whately delivered a grand-slam home run to put Carthage up by three, 19-16. Joey Aiello followed with a two-run homer and Josh Albers a three-run shot, and the Red Men led by eight, 24-16. Bill Herrin singled home another run for the final, 25-16 margin. Whately went four-for-six with a home run and five RBI. Joey Aiello went two-for-six with a double, a home run and five RBI, and Tyler Eickmeyer went four-for-six with a double and two RBI.
Eric Rohe (1-0), fourth of four Red Men hurlers and making his first appearance of the year after breaking his pitching hand in late-February, picked up the win with two innings of shutout relief. Zach Hofer (0-2), the third of four Elmhurst pitchers, took the loss. The two teams combined for 46 base hits.
