The Carthage College baseball team (4-0, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) opened an eight-game spring trip to the Tucson Invitational on Thursday night, March 19 with a 17-7 win over Gustavus Adolphus College (1-4) at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.
Gustavus took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Carthage took a 4-2 lead in the bottom half, with the big hit a two-run double by Nick Schmdlkofer. After the Gusties cut the lead to 4-3 in the top of the fourth,
Matt Rave's RBI-double in the bottom half gave the Red Men a 5-3 lead. Gustavus scored twice in the fifth to tie the game, 5-5, but
Jared Helmich's two-run homer in the bottom half put Carthage back up by two, 7-5. The Red Men put the game away with a 10-run sixth inning with 16 players batting in the frame. A solo home run by
Zach Wade and a two-run single by Helmich were the big hits in the sixth, as Carthage took a 17-5 lead. The Gusties scored twice in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to stave off a 10-run mercy rule, as the Red Men won by a 17-7 margin.
Carthage pitcher
Kyle Cibrario (Jr., Libertyville, Ill., 1-0) worked the first five innings to pick up the win. Cibrario allowed five runs, four earned on eight hits and a walk.
Chris Pedrak (Fr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South) pitched the final two innings for his first collegiate save. Nick Schmdlkofer (Sr., Wind Lake, Wis./Muskego) led the 15-hit attack by going three-for-five with a double and five RBI.
Jared Helmich (Jr., Lake Villa, Ill./Fox Lake-Grant Community) went three-for-four with a home run and four RBI, and
Zach Wade (So., Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) went three-for-four with four runs scored and the solo home run.
The Carthage College baseball team (4-0, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) opened an eight-game spring trip to the Tucson Invitational on Thursday night, March 19 with a 17-7 win over Gustavus Adolphus College (1-4) at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.
Gustavus took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Carthage took a 4-2 lead in the bottom half, with the big hit a two-run double by Nick Schmdlkofer. After the Gusties cut the lead to 4-3 in the top of the fourth,
Matt Rave's RBI-double in the bottom half gave the Red Men a 5-3 lead. Gustavus scored twice in the fifth to tie the game, 5-5, but
Jared Helmich's two-run homer in the bottom half put Carthage back up by two, 7-5. The Red Men put the game away with a 10-run sixth inning with 16 players batting in the frame. A solo home run by
Zach Wade and a two-run single by Helmich were the big hits in the sixth, as Carthage took a 17-5 lead. The Gusties scored twice in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to stave off a 10-run mercy rule, as the Red Men won by a 17-7 margin.
Carthage pitcher
Kyle Cibrario (Jr., Libertyville, Ill., 1-0) worked the first five innings to pick up the win. Cibrario allowed five runs, four earned on eight hits and a walk.
Chris Pedrak (Fr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South) pitched the final two innings for his first collegiate save. Nick Schmdlkofer (Sr., Wind Lake, Wis./Muskego) led the 15-hit attack by going three-for-five with a double and five RBI.
Jared Helmich (Jr., Lake Villa, Ill./Fox Lake-Grant Community) went three-for-four with a home run and four RBI, and
Zach Wade (So., Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) went three-for-four with four runs scored and the solo home run.
"We put some runs up.," said Carthage coach
Augie Schmidt IV, "so it was kind of old school for us. We did it with the long ball and extra-base hits, and we haven't had that in awhile. The Gustavus starting pitcher was very good, but we got some hitter's counts and drove the ball, so that was fun.
Kyle Cibrario pitched just well enough to win, and
Chris Pedrak pitched well at the end. We made a lot of mental mistakes that we have to clean up. We're young and inexperienced, but we have some talent, which is something that's been missing the past few years. Its' just a question of whether or not we can clean things up enough to become a solid baseball team."
The trip continues with a Noon doubleheader against Hamline University (7-3) on Friday, March 20, followed by games against Luther College on Saturday, March 21 at 9 a.m., Middlebury College on Sunday, March 22 at 10 a.m., Carleton College on Monday, March 23 at 12:30 p.m., Oberlin College on Tuesday, March 24 at 11 a.m. and Oberlin again on Wednesday, March 25 at 9 a.m.
The trip continues with a Noon doubleheader against Hamline University on Friday, March 20, followed by games against Luther College on Saturday, March 21 at 9 a.m., Middlebury College on Sunday, March 22 at 10 a.m., Carleton College on Monday, March 23 at 12:30 p.m., Oberlin College on Tuesday, March 24 at 11 a.m. and Oberlin again on Wednesday, March 25 at 9 a.m.
