LISLE, Ill. - Edgewood College needed a win badly after stumbling back into a tie for first place in the Northern Athletics Conference. After falling to Benedictine University in the first game Saturday 15-4, the Eagles bounced back on the strength of an eight-run fifth inning to earn a split with a 13-7 victory in the second game.
In the first game, Edgewood College jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Matt Werner scored Seth Astroth from second with an RBI single. That set the stage for Cory McCullick's two-run double to right center field which scored Werner and Steve Binder who had reached on a walk.
From that point on, however, it was all Benedictine and starting pitcher Jake Thompson. The Eagles of Illinois answered with two runs in the second, four more in the third and a six run explosion in the fourth to put the game away early. Thompson gave up just three hits the rest of the way and struck out five in improving to 3-1 on the season.
Senior Rick Walsh took the loss for Edgewood College going two and two-thirds innings and giving up five earned runs of four hits. Besides McCullick, Justin Dahmen connected for a double and scored a run. No Edgewood College batter got more than one hit in the ball game.
Edgewood College (18-9, 9-3 NAC) opened game two much like game one picking up two early runs, this time in the first inning. Tim Barry had an RBI groundout and Astroth knocked in a run with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. However, Benedictine tied the game up with single runs in the first and third innings.
The fifth inning belonged to Edgewood College. The first eight batters all reached base safely on five singles, a double, a walk and an error. Barry had a two-run double to highlight an eight run rally and give Edgewood College a 10-2 lead. Jimy Landwehr had two singles in the inning, the second of which drove in two runs.
Edgewood College starter Kyle Lode cruised along until the seventh inning when an RBI double by Dennis Marshall cut the lead to 10-4 and chased Lode from the game. Edgewood College brought in Nathan Marlowe but Rick Porcaro soon greeted him with a three-run home run. However, Marlowe settled down and struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the win. Marlowe's five strikeouts gave him 101 for his career, making him the eighth Eagle in history to strike out at least 100 batters.
Lode earned the win and is now 3-0 this season. McCullick, King, Landwehr and Dahmen all had two hits for the Eagles. Barry drove in three runs to lead the team. McCullick had his streak of 24 consecutive successful stolen base attempts snapped when he was caught in the ninth inning.
Edgewood College will attempt to celebrate LSM Chiropractic Senior Day during their doubleheader with Aurora University. The games were scheduled for Sunday, but have been postponed due to the anticipated rainy weather. Please check EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com for the reschedule date.
