BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Elmhurst baseball team slipped to 0-3 in the CCIW after dropping a 17-7 slugfest at Illinois Wesleyan.
 
Elmhurst (5-9) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning as the Bluejays took advantage of an Illinois Wesleyan error to score four runs in the opening frame. Zach Tsiodras, Regan McReynolds and Greg Struck all drove in runs for the Bluejays in the first.
 
Illinois Wesleyan (11-4, 3-0 CCIW) scored two runs in the bottom of the first to cut the lead in half, but the Bluejays answered back with three runs in the top of the fourth.  Ben Havel tripled in a pair of runs and then scored on an RBI single from Tsiodras to make the score 7-2 in favor of Elmhurst.
 
Things fell apart for Elmhurst in the bottom of the fourth. Two errors and a passed ball on a strikeout extended the Titans' inning, allowing Illinois Wesleyan to send 13 batters to the plate and score seven runs, pulling in front 9-7.
 
The Titans continued to hit in the fifth, brining 12 players to the plate and scoring seven runs for the second consecutive inning to extend their lead to 16-7. A solo home run from Pat Mollo in the sixth gave the Titans the 10-run victory after seven innings.
 
A.J. Compton, Brandon Kressner, Tsiodras and McReynolds collected two hits apiece to lead the Bluejays in the loss. Havel and Tsiodras each drove in two runs while Compton, Kressner and Havel scored two runs apiece.
 
Matthew Mardis and Nick Huskisson drove in three runs apiece to lead the Titans at the plate. Tim Coonan scored three runs and drove in two while Jarrod Juskiewicz finished with two hits, two runs and two RBI.
 
Havel made the start from the mound and took the loss. He allowed five hits and nine runs, but only two earned runs. He walked three and struck out five.
 
Jonathan Vik earned the win in relief for Illinois Wesleyan, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing six hits and three runs.
 
Elmhurst travels to Augustana College on March 31.