The Carthage College baseball team (13-12, 5-7 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) swept a Tuesday, April 17 doubleheader from Marian University (Wis., 14-12), 7-4 and 4-3, at Herr-Baker Field in Fond du Lac, Wis. The second game went 17 innings, an unofficial Carthage record and an official Northern Athletics Conference mark. Over 500 pitches were thrown in the second game with a combined 43 players seeing action. Carthage left 21 runners on base, and Marian stranded 17 runners. With the sweep, Carthage went over the .500 mark for the first time since March 19.
In the opener, Carthage took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a Drew Bailey RBI-grounder and an RBI-single by Tyler Eickmeyer. After Marian tied the game, 2-2, in the bottom half, the Red Men broke the tie with a five-run third inning. Carthage scored its five runs on a two-run double by Tanner Wensman and a three-run, bases-loaded double by Eickmeyer. The Sabres scored two in the bottom of the third to make it 7-4, and that score held up. Mitch Lochen (Jr., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South, 2-0) was the winning pitcher. He allowed four runs on 10 hits and no walks. Jake Jewell worked the final three innings and blanked Marian on one hit with three strikeouts to earn his second save. Bryce Taylor (1-1) was the losing pitcher. Carthage's Mike Gentile went three-for-three, and Eickmeyer had two hits in four trips with four RBI.
Mike Wasche's RBI-single in the second gave the Red Men an early, 1-0 lead in the nightcap, but Marian scored in the bottom half to tie the game. Kyle Frye's run-scoring single in the fourth put Carthage up, 2-1. The Sabres scored an unearned run in the fifth to knot things up at 2-2. Marian took a 3-2 lead in the sixth, but Andrew Arenson's RBI-single in the eighth tied the game at 3-3. The game went to extra innings, still tied at 3-3. In the Marian 11th, the Sabres loaded the bases with one out. Mitch Andrus, the runner at third base, was caught trying to steal home, and Ryan Blise struck out swinging. Marian loaded the bases again in the 12th with one out, but Andy Pucher got Matt Schroeder to strike out swinging, and pinch-hitter Jace Unrein grounded out to shortstop to send the game to the 13th inning.
The Red Men scored the go-ahead run in the 17th inning. Tyler Eickmeyer singled with one out, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joey Aiello. The Sabres had runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the 17th, but Mike D'Angelo (Fr., Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove, 1-0), a third baseman/outfielder by trade, got Ryan Blise on a swinging third strike to end the game. Austin Massey (0-1), the fifth-of-five Marian pitchers took the loss. Pitcher Jeremy Salzman started for Carthage and went the first six innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits and no walks. Sam Wilhelms took over the in the seventh and allowed no runs on three hits and no walks over five innings, while striking out six. Andy Pucher relieved Wilhelms in the 12th innings, and Chris D'Angelo took over in the 16th. Mike Wasche went four-for-seven for the Red Men and Andrew Arenson had three hits in six trips.
Carthage plays host to No. 38 Concordia University (Chicago) on Thursday, April 19 in a 4 p.m. game at the Carthage Baseball Field in Kenosha, Wis.