By Jami Sponaugle

Chicago, Ill. - After some time changes and a location change, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks baseball team took on the visiting Rockford University Regents at De La Salle Institute on Saturday for some Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) double header action. 

Game one ended 10-2 in favor of the Regents (17-17, 10-8) while game two ended in a Hawks (14-18, 9-9) victory as they defeated the Regents 10-0 in 7 innings. 

Game One (Rockford 10 - Illinois Tech 2)

• The Regents were held scoreless in the top of the first while the Hawks brought in 1 run in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Gutsfeld scored the run. 

• In the top of the fourth, the Regents jumped out ahead of the Hawks. The visitors scored one run followed by a Jared Herzog 2-run home run to make it a 3-1 ballgame. 

• During the seventh inning, the Regents built on their lead. Jake Bilotta hit a 2 RBI single before Joseph Stagowsi hit a 2-run home run, giving the Regents a 7-1 lead. During the bottom of the seventh, the Hawks recorded their second and final run of the game when Brandon Bennitt scored off a Matthew Jackson single. 

• Lastly, in the ninth inning, the Regents secured the 10-2 victory when TJ Cox hit a 3-run home run. 

Game Two (Illinois Tech 10 - Rockford 0 - 7 innings)

• The Hawks turned things around in game two with Austin Richardson on the mound. Offensively, the Hawks got the game going in the bottom of the first when Gutsfeld homered in the Hawks very first at-bat to take an early 1-0 lead. 

• In the bottom of the second, Peyton Vieluf scored on a Matthew Bove single. Then, with the Hawks back to the top of the order, Gutsfeld stepped up to bat and once again homered, this time bringing in 3 runs to put the Hawks up 5-0. 

• In the top third inning is when the Regents got their lone hit of the game. In the bottom of the third, Vieluf hit a solo home run to make it a 6-0 ballgame. 

• For the rest of the game, Richardson went 3-up, 3-down against the Regents. 

• A Connor Blake solo hom erun in the bottom of the fourth added to the Hawks score. 

• After a scoreless fifth inning, the Hawks homered twice in the bottom of the seventh. The first came when Bennitt hit a 2-run homer. Then, after one out, Jackson hit a solo home run to give the Hawks the ultimate 10-0 victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

Game One

• Matthew Jackson went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI's.

• Tyler Gutsfeld went 1-for-5 with 1 run. 

Game Two

• Austin Richardson pitched 7.0 innings and faced 22 batters. Richardson allowed just 1 hit while striking out 15. 

• Gutsfeld was 4-for-4 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI's and 3 runs.

• Bennitt was 1-for-2 with 1 home run, 2 RBI's and 1 run. 

• Blake was 1-for-4 with a home run, 1 RBI and 1 run.

• Jackson was 1-for-3 with a home run, 1 RBI and 1 run.

• Vieluf was 2-for-3 with a home run, 1 RBI, 2 runs, and a stolen base. 

Regents Standouts

Game One

• Jake Bilotta went 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's. 

• Joseph Stagowski went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI's.

• Jared Herzog went 1-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBI's. 

• TJ Cox went 1-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI's. 

 Game Two

• TJ Cox recorded the Regents lone hit of the game. 

Head Coach Ed Zeifert's Comments

"What a bounce back in game two! [Saturday] was a tough day with schedule changes, location changes, and one of the top arms in our league. Watching our guys battle in game two and seeing Richardson do what he is capable of doing every time out was just fun to watch. We are really looking forward to getting back on the field.

Up Next

The Hawks were scheduled to play on Sunday, but due to weather conditions the game was postponed, no make-up date has been announced yet. The next scheduled games on the Hawks schedule are set for Friday at Ed Glancy Field against Concordia University Wisconsin (19-12, 11-6). First pitch of game one is scheduled for 12:00 PM with game two to follow. The Hawks will be honoring their three seniors on Friday for senior day.