The Carthage College baseball team (1-4, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) lost its third-straight game at the Tucson Invitational on Saturday, March 19 with a 10-6 loss to George Fox University (14-8) at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz. The Red Men climbed back into the game after falling behind, 6-0, only to surrender four runs in the top of the ninth inning.
In the first inning, Carthage's Drew Korosic was cut down at the plate trying to score from second base on a Zach Wade. single . George Fox took a 4-0 lead in the top of the second on a three-run triple by Claylen Clardy and an RBI-single by A.J. Valencia. The Bruins made it a 6-0 game in the fifth on back-to-back RBI-singles by Riley McKean and Kadyn Nannini. The Red Men finally got on the scoreboard with two runs in the seventh, the first when Korsosic scored on a wild pitch, and the other on a sacrifice fly by Reed Hero to score John Burkiewicz. Carthage cut the lead to 6-4 with a three-run seventh inning. Korosic hit a two-run homer in the frame, followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Jared Helmich. An RBI-double by Carthage's Jared Knoespel in the eighth tied the game, 6-6.
Things unraveled for the Red Men in the top of the ninth. With runners at second and third and one out, the Bruins Gabe Louthan bunted back to Carthage pitcher Chris Pedrak. Pedrak's toss to the plate failed to beat lead runner Ansel Webster, and George Fox scored the go-ahead run. The next batter, Andrew Reichenbach, launched a three-run homer down the rightfield line, and the Bruins led by four, 10-6. "They squeezed, we don't get an out, and then next guy—bang and we're down four runs," said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt IV. Carthage got a base runner in the bottom of the ninth when Helmich doubled with one out, but Reed Hero and Zach Wade were both caught looking at third strikes from reliever Zachery Muenster to end the game.
Muenster (1-1), in relief of Alex Jonda, was the winning pitcher and allowed one unearned run on three hits and two walks over two and one-third innings. Chris DeRue (Jr., Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) pitched the first five innings for the Red Men and gave up six runs on eight hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Dalton Sjong (Sr., Paddock Lake, Wis./Salem Westosha Central) entered the game in the sixth and Chris Pedrak (So., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South) in the ninth, with Sjong (0-1) getting saddled with the loss.
Andrew Reichenbach and Caylen Clardy each drove in three runs for George Fox, with Drew Korosic (Jr., Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) going three-for-five with two RBI for the Red Men.
"We got down early and battled back, which was nice to see," said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt IV. "We're starting to swing the bats like we can. Chris DeRue threw great, except for one inning, and Dalton Sjong threw good. We're a little shell-shocked at the moment, but we've played two really good teams down here. George Fox is halfway thru its conference season already. They played their first game on Feb. 5, the day we started indoor practice. We'll catch up, but we're going to need some patience. As long as we don't get buried down here, we're going to better later on because of this competition."
Carthage takes on Luther College (4-0) on Sunday, March 20 in a 10 a.m., MST game at the Kino Complex. The Red Men have also added a game to this Monday's schedule. Following the already-scheduled contest with Buena Vista University at 11 a.m., MST, Carthage will play Hastings College at 3 p.m., MST.