McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team faced a setback against Blackburn College in a non-conference game on April 30, losing 7-5. The Titans' record now stands at 22-12, while the Beavers improved to 5-31.

The game began with IWU's senior center fielder Louis Perona (Chicago, Ill.-Lane Tech) earning a walk. Perona advanced to second base during junior Justin Gadomski's (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) at-bat and reached third with junior Tyler Woltman (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton North) at the plate. A throwing error by the catcher allowed Perona to score, giving IWU an early 1-0 lead.

Blackburn responded with runs in the third and fourth innings and added another in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, freshman John Philip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) got things started for IWU with a hit. After senior Jacob Cyrus (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbrook South) executed a sacrifice bunt that moved Ferraro to second base, sophomore Jack Flagg (River Forest, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) hit a double to left field driving in Ferraro and narrowing Blackburn's lead to 3-2.

The seventh inning saw Blackburn extend their lead by scoring three more runs. However, Illinois Wesleyan fought back in their half of the inning with three runs of their own. Pinch hitter Jimmy Martin (Western Springs, Ill.-Fenwick) walked and was followed by Perona's bunt putting two runners on base. Ferraro walked loading the bases before Cyrus delivered a crucial hit driving in Martin and Perona. Pinch runner Michael Passarelli (Chicago, Ill.-De La Salle) scored on a wild pitch reducing Blackburn’s advantage to one run at 6-5.

Blackburn managed to add another run increasing their lead back to two runs at 7-5 which proved insurmountable for Illinois Wesleyan as they failed to score further.

Six pitchers took turns on the mound for IWU with senior Aiden Smith (Marengo, Ill.-Marengo) being credited with the loss bringing his record this season to 0-2. Both Perona and Flagg recorded strong performances each going 2-for-4 contributing two runs and two doubles collectively.

Illinois Wesleyan is set for an away game against Elmhurst College on May 1 as part of their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schedule. The game will begin at Butterfield Park at 4 p.m., with live stats and streaming available via IWUsports.com under their baseball schedule section.