Springfield, Ill – Illinois Tech baseball traveled down state to take on United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Conference foe Robert Morris-Springfield. With a gusting 30-40 mile per hour (mph) wind for the entire day both teams were not going to hit many balls that traveled very far. "It was a pitcher paradise today, a 30+ mph blowing in to the plate means if you make pitches today you have a great chance to be very successful." Stated Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach Jeremy McDonald. The Hawks used one solo homerun blasts into the howling winds in each game and added one insurance run in each to seal the sweep with 2-0 and 2-0 final scores.
Game 1
Illinois Tech had 2 runs on 9 hits with no errors. Elliot Chibe (SO, Palos Park, Ill.) was the starting and only pitcher for the Hawks. Going 7.0 innings spreading out 6 hits and recording the complete game shutout for his first win (1-0) in the 2015 campaign. Chibe was absolutely cursing in the middle innings today with a handful of innings where he faced the minimum number of batters. Chibe also struck out 5 batters to no walks.
On offense all but two starters recorded hits. With Sam Pung's (JR, Ludington, Mich.) solo blast into the heart of the wind in the 2nd inning. Brian Colon (JR, Carolina, PR) ended the game with 3 hits (all singles). Austin Boos (JR, Indianapolis, Ind.) had the only other run batted in (RBI) in game one with a single that plated Andrew Lamkin (FR, Washington, Mich.) who had bunted for a hit earlier in the inning. Michael Malfeo (SR, Orland Park, Ill.), William Cronin (SR, Orland Park, Ill.), Alex Babusci (SR, Park Ridge, Ill.) and Kyle Bumpass (SO, Crete, Ill.) all added singles in the contest.
Game 2
In the second game the weather, the pitching, the defense and the result were almost exactly the same. As Tech took the lead in the 3rd inning off a Michael Malfeo solo homerun, then scratched another run across in the 4th inning. Austin Boos, William Cronin, Brian Colon, Sam Pung, and Ryan Fitzpatrick (Chicago, Ill.) all added one hit each. With Pung scoring on the 4th inning single from Fitzpatrick.
James Tarala (SO, Crown Point, Ind.) went the distance on the mound for a second straight complete game shutout for the young Tech pitching staff. All 7.0 innings with just 3 hits allowed with no walks and adding 3 strikeouts. Tarala had his good stuff today and pitched exceptionally well." Added Head Coach Scott Marks. "Not to mention that two of the three hits he allowed came with a 0-2 count on the batter. We have to make adjustments in that area and make sure down the road that does not come back to hurt us."
This takes Hawks Baseball record to 8-2 overall on the season and six wins in a row. Next up for the team is Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 at Lakeland College for a 1:00pm double dip in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.