CHICAGO—The Illinois Institute of Technology baseball team hosted Benedictine University (Ill.) in a blustery Saturday-afternoon at Ed Glancy Field. Both teams combined for 14 home runs throughout the two games, where Illinois Tech registered a 14-4 victory (seven innings) in game one before Benedictine secured an 18-6 win (seven innings) in game two.
The Scarlet Hawks exit Saturday with a 13-7, 8-6 NACC record while Benedictine's first conference loss gives them a 24-7, 13-1 NACC mark.
Illinois Tech 14, Benedictine 4 (Game 1 / 7 Innings)
The Scarlet Hawks tallied at least two runs in each of the first four innings en route to a 10-1 advantage. Ted Howell (first inning), Connor Blake (second inning) and Brandon Bennitt (fourth inning) engineered the Scarlet Hawks offense throughout the opening four innings with a home run each.
After the Eagles tallied a sixth-inning run to make the score 10-2, Illinois Tech tallied four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning behind an RBI single from Howell, and a two-run double from Matthew Jackson. David Navarro also contributed with an RBI single to help stretch the score to 14-2 after the frame. The Eagles concluded the game's scoring with two seventh-inning runs en route to a 14-4 final score.
Roberto Carselle went the distance on the pitching rubber for Illinois Tech as he allowed six hits, four runs (three earned), and registered three strikeouts. Connor Blake and Ted Howell each went 3-for-4 with three runs scored for the Scarlet Hawks.
Benedictine 18, Illinois Tech 6 (Game 2 / 7 Innings)
The Eagles and Scarlet Hawks combined for 10 home runs in the contest. The NCAA Division III record for most home runs between two teams is 16, which was accomplished on May 25, 1984 when Brandeis defeated Ithaca 9-7.
Benedictine tallied seven of the 10 home runs in the contest as they led from start-to-finish en route to an 18-6 victory.
Nick Bledsoe, Ted Howell (home run) and Brandon Bennitt (home run) each went 2-for-4 at the plate for Illinois Tech, while Blake tallied a 2-for-2 outing with a home run and two walks. Ryan Cantlin got the pitching start for the Scarlet Hawks and went four innings before Caleb Parks came in for the final three frames.
The Scarlet Hawks will face Benedictine (Ill.) (DH) in Lisle, Illinois tomorrow, Sunday, May 2 at 12:00 p.m.