By Steve Marovich, Athletics Staff Writer/2022 Baseball Contact
The Carthage College baseball team (9-21, 3-9 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened a three-game series with conference-opponent Elmhurst University (10-16, 3-8) on Saturday, April 23 by splitting a doubleheader at Augie Schmidt Field in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage won the first game, 8-7, but Elmhurst took the nightcap, 10-7. The Firebirds were originally scheduled to travel to Elmhurst, Ill., on Saturday, but the Bluejays' home facility, Butterfield Park, is underwater following several days of rain the Chicago-area.
In the first game, Carthage took an early, 2-0 lead in the first inning when Colton Klein doubled in a run and P.T. Boeye followed with an RBI-single. The Firebirds went up, 6-0, in the second on a three-run home run to center field by Austin Prybylinski and a sacrifice fly by P.J. Moser. Elmhurst cut the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the second on a two-run homer by Jesse James. The Bluejays pulled to within two, 6-4, in the third on a two-run double by Drew Raspolich.
Carthage starting pitcher Bryce Schaum worked out of a jam of his own making in the fourth. After loading the bases on three-straight singles, the freshman righty got the next three Bluejays on swinging strikes to end the threat. In the fifth, however, Elmhurst scored three times to take its first lead of the game, 7-6. Zachary Hafner hit an RBI-single in the fifth, followed by Jonathan Mays two-run double to end Schaum's afternoon.
Carthage re-gained the lead, 8-7, in the eighth on a two-run homer by Jax Calverley. The Bluejays put two on with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Jake Hartman Jr. worked out of the trouble to end the game. Schaum went the first four and one-third innings and allowed seven runs on 12 hits, three walks and eight strikeouts. Hartman (2-1) entered the game in the fifth and worked the final four and two-thirds innings for the win and blanked the Bluejays on three hits, two walks and eight strikeouts. J.T. Oie (1-2), the second-of-three Elmhurst hurlers, took the loss.
Carthage collected 16 hits in the game. Cody Tostrud, who opened the season with a 16-game hitting streak, extended his current streak to nine games by going four-for-five with two runs scored. Colton Klein went three-for-five with two runs scored and an RBI, while Bryce Prybylinski went three-for-four.
Carthage opened a 1-0 lead in the nightcap on a solo homer by Matt Felber in the second inning. Colton Klein's RBI-double in the third upped the lead to 2-0. Elmhurst scored a run on a passed ball in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 2-1. Michael Campanaro connected on a two-run home run for Elmhurst in the bottom of the fourth to give the Bluejays a 3-2 lead. The Firebirds tied the game, 3-3, in the fifth on a run-scoring grounder off the bat of Cody Tostrud. The Bluejays went back on top, 6-3, in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run homer by Paul Fomby, along with an RBI-double by Jesse James.
The Firebirds cut that lead to 6-4 in the sixth on a solo homer by P.T. Boeye. Elmhurst added four runs in the seventh to take a 10-4 lead. Zachary Hafner hit a two-run double, with two more runs scoring on an RBI-single by Jonathan Mays and another run scoring on the same play via a throwing error on the cutoff play.
Carthage scored three times in the ninth for the 10-7 final margin. Colton Klein hit a two-run homer and P.J. Moser a solo shot in the ninth. The Firebirds collected 13 hits in the second game, with Klein going three-for-four with three RBI. Cody Tostrud singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. The two teams combined for 57 hits on the day.
Noah Jordan (3-0) was the winning pitcher for Elmhurst in game two. Nick Hamilton (0-8) took the loss for Carthage by giving up the first five runs, four earned, on six hits, three walks and five strikeouts over four innings. Troy Siranovic entered the game in the fifth and Thomas Coffey in the seventh.
"It was a good day to hit," said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt IV, " but we didn't hit enough to get a sweep. It could have been a really good day, if we got get the second game, but we just came up short. Noah Jordan, their little lefty, shut us down pretty good. He pitched well. It was a good day of baseball, and we're playing better—we're just not always getting the results we want. It was nice to see freshman Jake Hartman Jr. get a win in the first game, since he's throwing the ball pretty well with some tough luck. It was also nice to see freshmen like Matt Felber and P.J. Moser hit the ball over the fence. We're coming around a little bit. It was also a day when we didn't freeze, and this spring, that's a good day right there."
Carthage and Elmhurst conclude the three-game set with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, April 24, also at Augie Schmidt Field.