McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) baseball team celebrated a successful doubleheader against Augustana College, enhancing their win streak in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) to four games. The Titans, following these victories, hold an 18-9 overall record and an 8-3 standing in the conference. The Vikings stand at 16-12 overall with a 3-7 conference record.

In the first game, the Vikings initially led with two runs in the opening inning. The Titans responded in the third inning when senior Louis Perona began with a single and subsequently advanced to third base, setting up sophomore Jack Flagg for a two-run home run that tied the score. Despite a solo home run by the Vikings in the fifth inning reclaiming their lead, IWU surged ahead in the seventh inning. Key plays included junior Tristan Figus's base hit and sophomore Tommy Willard's decisive RBI double. A sacrifice fly by junior Justin Gadomski allowed IWU to secure a 4-3 victory.

Sophomore Cole Shamhart emerged as the winning pitcher, improving his season record to 5-0.

The second game saw no scores until freshman John Philip Ferraro’s play in the fifth inning initiated IWU’s scoring streak. Following errors by Augustana College's catcher, senior Jacob Cyrus added another run. Subsequent contributions from Figus and Willard extended IWU’s lead to 3-0 by inning's end. Additional runs were secured in later innings through strategic hits by junior William Duff and Perona.

Sophomore Will Davidmeier took credit for the win as starting pitcher, while Cyrus achieved his first save of the season. Willard excelled with a perfect three-for-three performance during this game.

The Titans are scheduled to face Monmouth College on April 14 at Jack Horenberger Field in Bloomington, Illinois. Game coverage will be available through live stats and streaming on IWUsports.com.