CAROL STREAM, Ill. – Off to their best start in 13 years, the Edgewood College baseball team suffered a setback on Friday in the Wheaton College Tournament. The Eagles fell to Northland College 10-6 in the morning and then dropped a second game, 14-5 to Bethel University in the afternoon. The defeats mark the Eagles first back-to-back losses of the 2017 season.
Edgewood College (7-4) took a 1-0 lead on the Lumberjacks in the first inning on a Jonathan Roehler sacrifice fly to score Jeff Tucker from third base. However, Northland College (1-6) touched Eagles starter Blake Bieri for three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 6-1 lead. Tim Nunn hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to get the Eagles a bit closer, but Northland's Anthony Corrado blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to give his team a 9-2 lead.
Edgewood College loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Danny Appino forced home a run with a bases loaded walk, and Roehler pushed another across with a ground out. After Tucker scored on a Lumberjack throwing error, Nick Cheaney brought home Roehler with a ground-rule double to left field, to bring the Eagles within 9-6. However, Edgewood College went down in order in the eighth and ninth.
Alex Fowler had two of the Eagles' four hits in the game. Roehler drove in two runs, while Tucker scored two runs and stole three bases. Bieri suffered his first loss of the season, allowing six earned runs on seven hits, while striking out six batters. In all, Bieri, Ryan Howell and Alex Meister combined to strikeout 11 Northland hitters in the game.
In the day's second game, the Eagles battled back from deficits of 3-0 and 5-3 only to see Bethel University (13-3) blow the game open with a nine-run seventh inning. Tim Nunn tripled to score two in the third inning and Appino hit an RBI single in the fourth to tie the game 3-3. When Bethel regained the lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, the Eagles bounced back to tie the game again. In the sixth, Appino doubled to put he and Tucker on second and third base. Tucker would then score on a wild pitch and Appino would come home on a Royals' passed ball.
However, it fell apart in the seventh inning as the first three Bethel batters reached without a hit and two errors opened the door to a big inning. The Royals scored nine runs on just four hits with the benefit of two errors in the decisive inning.
Appino, Roehler and Nunn each had two hits for the Eagles. Nunn added two RBIs with his triple in the third inning. Appino and Nik Visone each had a double. Adam Eck started the game, but left in the sixth inning with five strikeouts and five runs allowed. Mason Maziarka suffered the loss.
Edgewood College will be back in action on Saturday against the host school, Wheaton College at 3:00 p.m. That game will have live stats and an audio broadcast provided by Wheaton. Links can be found at EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.
