McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team achieved a decisive victory over Wheaton College with a 9-1 win in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup. The game took place on April 17 in Wheaton, Illinois, bringing the Titans' record to 20-9 overall and 9-3 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Thunder's record fell to 7-19 overall and 1-10 in the CCIW.

In the opening inning, Justin Gadomski from Schaumburg scored after hitting a triple and advancing home on a wild pitch, giving IWU an early lead. Jack Flagg contributed with his second home run of the season, furthering the Titans' advantage to 2-0 by the end of the first half-inning.

Despite Wheaton's efforts, they could not score in their first inning but managed to hold IWU scoreless in the top of the second inning. In subsequent innings, Louis Perona from Chicago secured another run for IWU after being walked and later scoring off Tyler Woltman's double.

A critical moment came when Wheaton loaded bases with one out in the fourth inning. However, Cole Shamhart successfully defended for IWU with a strikeout followed by forcing a ground out.

Perona continued to impact offensively by getting on base again through walks and eventually scoring runs as part of strategic plays that extended IWU's lead throughout the game. Freshman John Philip Ferraro capitalized on this momentum with crucial hits that brought more runners home.

Wheaton scored their only run during their sixth inning at-bat but was unable to bridge the gap further as IWU maintained control till game's end. Notably, Perona hit a home run into right center field while Evan Hutson contributed by driving Gadomski home late in proceedings.

The Titans will face Carthage College next at Augie Schmidt Stadium in Kenosha, Wisconsin this coming Sunday afternoon as part of ongoing CCIW competition.