The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team swept a doubleheader against North Central College on April 18 at Jack Horenberger Field in Bloomington, Ill. The Titans won the first game 15-4 in seven innings and secured an 8-5 victory in the second game, improving their record to 12-17 overall and 7-5 in league play.
These wins allow Illinois Wesleyan to move ahead of North Central for fourth place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings, with two weeks remaining before the conference regular season finale. The Titans will have a chance for a series sweep when they face North Central again tomorrow.
In game one, senior pitcher Cole Shamhart threw six innings with eight strikeouts and allowed three runs on five hits. Marshall Ingold finished the seventh inning to secure the win. Offensively, junior Jack Novak led with three hits as part of an effort where seven out of nine batters recorded hits. John Philip Ferraro contributed two hits and three runs batted in, while Gage Wolfe reached base three times including a double.
Game two saw freshman Anthony Batshon collect his first career multi-hit game and score twice. Senior Tommy Willard led with three hits, two RBIs, and one run scored from the eighth spot in the lineup. Pitchers Jake Pullam and Caleb Martinez combined to limit damage from North Central’s offense over seven innings before freshmen Anthony Fry and Brayden Elliott closed out the final frames; Elliott earned his third save of the season.
The Titans’ offense produced a total of 23 hits across both games. Novak extended his hitting streak to twelve games by adding five more on Saturday.
Illinois Wesleyan will attempt to complete its series sweep against North Central at Zimmerman Stadium in Naperville on April 18, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
