McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team secured a 4-0 victory over Carthage College at Horenberger Field on Tuesday evening. Sophomore Cole Shamhart and senior Jacob Cyrus combined for a complete-game shutout, striking out 17 batters in total. This win improved IWU's record to 22-9 overall and 11-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while Carthage fell to 20-10 overall and 8-6 in league play.

Shamhart pitched the first six innings, achieving a career-high of 12 strikeouts. Cyrus took over for the final three innings, adding five more strikeouts. The duo's combined efforts resulted in the third-most strikeouts in program history since April 18, 2014. Shamhart now holds an 8-0 record for the season, with Cyrus earning his second save.

The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning when sophomore Jimmy Gurgone singled to left field and later scored on an RBI single by senior Louis Perona. In the sixth inning, junior Tyler Woltman and freshman John Philip Ferraro contributed singles that led to two runs scored by Woltman and senior Michael Passarelli off a double from Cyrus.

Cyrus maintained control in relief with quick outs, including a diving catch by Perona. Junior Cade Tomhave advanced to third base following a sacrifice bunt by Gurgone and a fly out by Perona. Junior Justin Gadomski then hit a single to score Tomhave, extending IWU's lead to 4-0.

IWU outhit Carthage nine to six, with Ferraro going two-for-three and Perona finishing two-for-four. Cyrus recorded two RBIs while Gadomski and Perona each added one.

With their next game against Eastern Illinois canceled, Illinois Wesleyan will face Millikin University in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27.