Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Carthage College baseball team (7-10, 2-3 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened Augie Schmidt Field on Tuesday, April 2 by splitting a doubleheader with CCIW-opponent North Park University (11-9, 4-1 CCIW). The Vikings won the first game, 4-1, but the Red Men scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to take the nightcap by a 6-5 margin.
In the opener, North Park broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning when Rick DiVito singled in a run. Carthage tied the game in the sixth on an RBI-grounder off the bat of
Marc Mantucca. Mike Kane's three-run home run in the eighth gave the Vikings a 4-1 lead that held up. Jason Meger (1-1) was the winning pitcher. Meger blanked Carthage over the final two and one-third innings.
Alex Silverthorne started for the Vikings and limited the Red Men to one run on three hits and three walks over six innings.
Marc Mantucca was Carthage's starting pitcher, and allowed just one unearned run on seven hits and a walk over seven innings.
Sam Wilhelms (Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis., 2-3), who surrendered the three-run homer to Mike Kane in the eighth, took the loss. The Red Men managed only three hits off three North Park hurlers on a day that topped out at 37 degrees.
In the second game, the two teams traded runs in the first inning. Carthage took a 2-1 lead in the second on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Bailey. After the Vikings tied the game in the top of the third on a double steal, the Red Men went back up, 3-2, on a sacrifice fly by
Marc Mantucca. North Park tied the game, 3-3, in the fourth and took a 5-3 lead in the sixth. Carthage closed the gap to 5-4 in the eighth, scoring a run on the front end of a bases-loaded double play.
In the bottom of the ninth,
Drew Bailey led off with a single up the middle.
Tanner Wensman reached base on a bunt back to the pitcher that was thrown away at first base.
Brian Huntsinger bunted safely to load the bases.
Kyle Pusateri singled to right to score Bailey with the tying run. With two outs and the bases still loaded, Matt Cmiel was hit by a pitch from Vikings hurdler Jason Meger to score Wensman with the game-winning run.
Jake Jewell (So., Muskego, Wis., 1-0) picked up the win by blanking the Vikings in the ninth inning.
Andrew Arenson started the game and allowed three runs on five hits and four walks over four and one-third innings.
Mitch Lochen worked three and two-thirds innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Jason Meger (1-2), the winning pitcher in game one, took the loss in the second game.
Mike Gentile (Jr., Grayslake, Ill./Central) went three-for-three.
On Saturday-Sunday, April 6-7, Carthage travels to Moline, Ill., to take on conference-opponent and No. 23 Augustana College (Ill.) in a three-game series at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field. The two teams play a Saturday, April 6 doubleheader at 1 p.m., followed by a Noon single game on Sunday, April 7.
