The Carthage College baseball team (20-8, 12-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 22nd in the April 26 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association /"D3baseball.com" poll, swept a Saturday, April 30 doubleheader from CCIW-opponent Millikin University (5-27, 1-15 CCIW), 12-2 and 14-2, at the Carthage Baseball Field in Kenosha, Wis. The two teams conclude the three-game series with a Noon game on Sunday, May 1.
Carthage took a 5-0 lead in the first inning of the opener on a two-run home run by Joey Aiello, back-to-back RBI-doubles by Josh Albers and Matt Soderlund and an RBI-single by Zach Kozlowski. The Red Men made it 6-0 in the second when Aiello doubled and scored on a single to right by Will Hodges. The Big Blue scored twice in the seventh to make it 6-2, but RBI-singles by Soderlund, Kyle Pusateri and Billy Herrin, along with a base-loaded walk to Aiello in the bottom half upped Cartage's lead to 10-2. Will Hodges followed with a base-loaded, two-run double that gave the Red Men a 12-2 lead and ended the game on a 10-run rule,
Hodges went four-for-five with a double and three RBI, and Kyle Pusateri went three-for-four with an RBI. Mario Perez (Sr., Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township, 3-2) went the distance in the seven-inning game and allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits and a walk, while striking out 10 batters. Logan Bolton (0-6) took the loss.
Millikin took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap when Andrew Hendrian tripled to right-centerfield and scored on a ground out. Carthage tied the game in the bottom half on an RBI-single by Will Hodges, but the Red Men ran themselves out of a bigger inning when both Hodges and Joey Aiello were cut down trying to steal second. The Red Men took the lead, 5-1, in the third on run-scoring singles by Mike Petti and Aiello and a two-run double by Hodges. Brian Huntsinger's RBI-double in the fourth and a Tyler Eickmeyer sacrifice fly upped Carthage's lead to 7-1. A solo home run by Josh Albers in the fifth gave Carthage an 8-1 margin.
After the Big Blue made it 8-2 in the sixth, Andrew Arenson's sacrifice fly and a two-run Kyle Pusateri single in the bottom half gave the Red Men an 11-2 lead. Carthage scored three times with two outs in the seventh to end the game on a the 10-run rule. Petti, who had reached base on a fielder's choice, moved up to second on a wild pitch. Aiello was hit by a pitch, and Hodges launched a three-run homer to rightfield to end the game.
Will Hodges (Sr., Oak Park, Ill./Naperville-North) went three-for-four with a double, a home run and six RBI. For the afternoon, he went seven-for-nine with four runs scored, two doubles, a home run and nine RBI. Freshman outfielder Brian Huntsinger (Glendale, Wis./Milwaukee-Nicolet), who entered the game hitless in 14 trips to the plate this year, went three-for-four with two runs scored, a double and an RBI. Pitcher Danny Dahm (Sr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West, 3-0) allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out six batters. Josh Schultz (3-5), the first-of-three Big Blue hurlers, took the loss.