Augustana (Ill.) 3, Carthage 1
Augustana (Ill.) 8, Carthage 7
The Carthage College baseball team (16-6, 8-3 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 14th in the April 12 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association /”D3baseball.com” poll, opened a three-game series with CCIW-opponent and No. 15 Augustana College (Ill., 19-5, 8-3 CCIW) on Sunday, April 17 by losing both ends of a doubleheader, 3-1 and 8-7, at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field in Moline, Ill.
The series was originally scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 16 but was postponed one full day due to wet grounds. The two teams conclude the series with a 12:30 p.m. game on Monday, April 18. The Augustana sweep left the two teams in a four-way tie for first place in the CCIW, along with Illinois Wesleyan University and North Central College, all with 8-3 records.
Carthage's Bill Herrin (Sr., Galesburg, Il.) led off the opening game with a solo home run off Augustana starter Jared McIntosh. That's the way things stayed until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Vikings tied the contest, 1-1, on an RBI-single by Anthony Concialdi. Augustana took a 2-1 lead in the seventh when Joe Moran scored all the way from first base on a single to rightfield by T.J. O'Donnell. The Red Men got a one-out triple from Matt Soderlund in the eighth inning but stranded him at third. Augustan upped its lead to 3-1 in the eighth on an RBI-grounder by Jacob VanDuyne.
Jared McIntosh (4-0) was the winning pitcher. McIntosh limited the Red Men to one run on four hits and a walk over eight innings. Josiah Martin worked the ninth inning and picked up his fourth save. Mario Perez (Sr., Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township, 2-1) took the loss. Perez surrendered two runs on nine hits and two walks over seven innings, with Mitch Lochen (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) pitching the eighth inning. Billy Herrin went two-for-four with an RBI for the Red Men.
Carthage took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap on an RBI-single by Will Hodges. The Red Men went up, 3-0, in the second a Kyle Pusateri RBI-double and a single to right by Billy Herrin that was misplayed, allowing Pusateri to score from second. An RBI-single by Anthony Concialdi in the second got the Vikings on the scoreboard at 3-1, but Hodges delivered another RBI-single in the third to put the Red Men back up by three, 4-1. Matt Soderlund followed with a sacrifice fly, and Carthage led by four, 5-1.
Pat Wilson's run-scoring single in the bottom of the third, along with a base-loaded fielding error by Red Men shortstop Kyle Pusateri, brought the Vikings within two, 5-3. Joey Aiello answered with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth to put Carthage back up by four runs, 7-3. Augustana got a run back in the fifth and another in the sixth to make it 7-5. The Vikings had the base loaded against Carthage starting pitcher Danny Dahm in the sixth, but Pat Nelson grounded out to second to end the threat. The Vikings put a pair of runners on base in the eighth, and Michael Sanchez replaced Dahm on the hill. Sanchez walked Dave Hoffman to load the bases. T.J. O'Donnell hit a sacrifice fly, and Pat Wilson followed with a two-run double to put the Vikings up, for good, 8-7.
John Peters (3-0), in relief of Mike Trotta was the winning pitcher in the second game. Peters blanked the Red Men on five hits and walk over the final five and two-thirds innings. Michael Sanchez (Sr., Oswego, Ill., 0-1) took the loss in relief of Danny Dahm (Sr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West). Dahm gave up seven runs, five earned, on 11 hits and a walk over seven and one-third innings. Pat Wilson led the Vikings by going three-for-five with a double and three RBI. Carthage's Will Hodges (Sr., Oak Park, Ill./Naperville-North) also went three-for-five with a double and two RBI, while Joey Aiello (Jr., Libertyville, Ill.) went two-for-five with a home run and two RBI.
