The Carthage College baseball team (9-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) ended an eight-game trip to the Tucson Spring Invitational on Wednesday morning, March 25 with a disappointing, 7-6 loss to Oberlin College (8-8) at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.

Carthage took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a bloop RBI-single by Jared Helmich.  The Red Men scored three times in the third to go up, 4-0.  Reed Hero hit a solo home run in the inning.  After Oberlin scored a run in the third, Carthage made it a 5-1 game in the fifth with run scored on a double play.  The Yeomen cut the lead to 5-3 in the seventh, thanks to three walks and an infield throwing error.  An RBI-single by Hero in the eighth upped the Red Men's lead to 6-3.  Oberlin came up with four runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game, 7-6.

The Yeomen loaded the bases in the ninth off reliever Colin Dresen, who walked Benjamin Whitener to force in the first run.  Luke Mentkowski replaced Dresen and struck out Justin Cruz for the second out.  Pinch-hitter Mike Masella then hit a two-run single to tie the game.  Blaise Dolcemaschio followed with an another RBI-single to give Oberlin the come-from-behind win.

Carthage pitcher Colin Dresen (So., Racine, Wis./St. Catherines, 0-1), the fourth-of-five Red Men hurlers, took the loss.  Macabe Camps (1-0), the second-of-two Yeoman pitcher was credited with the win.  The Red Men pounded out 18 hits but committed four errors and stranded 13 base runners.  The two teams combined on 25 stranded runners.  Nick Schmidlkofer (Sr., Wind Lake, Wis./Muskego) led the Red Men with four hits in five trips.

Carthage opens its CCIW schedule on Saturday, March 28 by playing host to North Park University in a Noon doubleheader at Augie Schmidt Field in Kenosha, Wis.