McLean County Times

Illinois Wesleyan University secured a victory against North Central College in the final game of their series at Horenberger Field. The Titans won 4-2, improving their record to 15-9 overall and 5-3 in CCIW play, while the Cardinals fell to 8-13 and 3-3 in conference play.

In the first inning, junior Justin Gadomski hit a single, followed by sophomore Jack Flagg's double that led to a Cardinal error. This allowed Gadomski to score, giving the Titans an early lead. Despite leaving Flagg stranded on third base, Illinois Wesleyan maintained their advantage going into the second inning.

The Titans extended their lead in the fourth inning when junior Sebastian Edenhofer was walked and advanced to second base. Freshman John Philip Ferraro then hit an RBI single, pushing Illinois Wesleyan ahead 2-0.

Sophomore Tommy Willard started the fifth inning with a single and senior Louis Perona followed with another single, moving Willard to second base. A series of ground outs brought Willard home, increasing IWU's lead to 3-0.

In the seventh inning, Perona hit a double and later scored on a double by Woltman down the left field line. This prompted North Central College to make a pitching change as IWU took a 4-0 lead.

North Central College reduced the deficit by two runs in the eighth inning but was unable to overcome IWU's defense through the ninth inning.

Perona, Gadomski, and Ferraro each contributed two hits for Illinois Wesleyan. Ferraro had one RBI while Woltman added two RBIs on one hit. Overall, IWU tallied 11 hits compared to NCC's nine. Sophomore Cole Shamhart pitched seven innings for IWU with seven strikeouts and allowed six hits. Juniors Brady Hartman and Luke Schwab each pitched one inning; Schwab struck out two of three batters faced.

The Titans have several upcoming home games this week starting with Wheaton College on April 9 at Horenberger Field at 5 p.m., followed by Beloit College on Thursday, Augustana College in a doubleheader on Saturday, and Monmouth College on Sunday.