CHICAGO, Ill. - The Illinois Tech baseball team (8-8, 0-2 WIAC) played its first conference games of the Ed Zeifert era on Thursday afternoon in a rescheduled doubleheader against UW-Whitewater (10-2, 2-0 WIAC). Coming into the contest ranked third in all of NCAA Division III according to d3baseball.com's latest poll, the Warhawks overwhelmed Tech with a strong offense, downing the Scarlet Hawks 14-4 and 10-3.

Runs-Hits-Errors - Game One

• UW-Whitewater: 14 runs, 12 hits, 0 errors
• Illinois Tech: 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 errors

How it Happened - Game One

• Wisconsin-Whitewater's first two runs came courtsey of designated hitter Cal Aldridge, who went yard twice to the pull side in his first two at-bats. 
• In between the Aldridge home runs, Tech starter Jacob Geiger impressed, retiring six of the next eight batters.
• The Warhawks followed up Aldridge's second home run with another knock, this one off the bat of third baseman Nick Santoro, to make the score 4-0.
• UW-Whitewater added on in the fifth inning, plating four more runs off of Geiger and Joseph Hindy. Two more runs in the six gave the Warhawks a 10-0 lead going into the bottom half of the sixth. The two frames were highlighted by home runs from second baseman Jeff Szubert and center fielder Daytona Bryden.
• Tech did not record its first hit off of Warhawk starter Michael Kaska until a DJ Rybski single in the fifth, but that did not stop the Scarlet Hawks from fighting later on. Thanks to RBI hits from catcher Zachary Dickey (double) and first baseman Ted Howell (single) in the sixth off Ryan Makuski, the Scarlet Hawks made the score 10-3 going into the seventh.
• After three more runs from UWW in the top of the seventh to go back up 10, the Scarlet Hawks extended the contest one more inning on a RBI single from left fielder Jacob Sorenson. However, the Warhawks added one more in the eighth, which Tech was unable to answer to.

Runs-Hits-Errors - Game Two

• UW-Whitewater: 10 runs, 12 hits, 2 errors
• Illinois Tech: 3 runs, 9 hits, 1 error

How it Happened - Game Two

• After the Warhawks scored in the first off of Tech starter Neal Shah with a leadoff homer by Bryden, the Scarlet Hawks jumped out to a 2-1 lead. With two outs and the bases loaded, catcher Enrique Acevedo singled home two runs.
• Whitewater would tie the game in the second before Evan Sexsmith entered in the third and silenced UWW's bats. This allowed Tech to jump back ahead, as a Warhawks error helped Tech plate a run in the bottom half of the inning.
• In the fourth, the Warhawks re-established themselves on offense, scoring six times on six hits to move ahead 8-3.
• Roberto Carselle entered the game in the fifth inning and pitched very well for the Scarlet Hawks, going three strong while allowing just one run and striking out two. After Tyler Tucker shifted from shortstop to pitcher in the eighth inning and allow one run, Michael Courtney came in from center field and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
• Tech's bats were shut down after the fourth inning, as the Scarlet Hawks were unable to score again despite tallying five more hits.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Carselle and Courtney impressed out of the bullpen in game two, combining for four innings and allowing just one run.
• Courtney and Ian Duke (third baseman) both had two hits in the second game. Duke and Dickey were also the only two Scarlet Hawks to hit safely in both contests.

Up Next

• A four-game, two-day set with UW-Lacrosse awaits the Scarlet Hawks this weekend for more WIAC play. Tech will host all four games, with doubleheaders starting at noon on Saturday and Sunday. Illinois Media School is set to power a live audio broadcast, with video also possibly available pending temperature. Live stats will be available.