ELMHURST Ill. – The Elmhurst baseball team opened CCIW play by splitting a doubleheader with Carthage College. The Bluejays dropped game one 9-0 but bounced back to earn the split with a 6-3 win in game two.
Elmhurst moved to 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the CCIW with the split.
CARTHAGE 9, ELMHURST 0 (Game One) – Carthage broke open a 2-0 ball game with a six-run seventh inning en route to a 9-0 shutout in game one.
The Red Men used a two-out, two-run single from Vince Schwartz in the third inning to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead. Both starting pitchers settled in for the next three innings before Carthage broke things open in the seventh. The Red Men sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six times. A two-run single from Colton Klein followed by a two-run double from Ryan Kramer sparked the Carthage inning.
Elmhurst was limited to six hits in the contest and the Bluejays grounded into three double plays.
Matt Willett went the distance for Carthage, allowing six hits and four walks while striking out six in the complete game shutout.
Alex Kielion took the loss for Elmhurst, allowing 12 hits and eight runs in six innings of work.
ELMHURST 6, CARTHAGE 3 (Game Two) – Jordan Scrimpsher tossed eight strong innings and totaled three hits at the plate to help lead Elmhurst to a 6-3 win in game two.
Elmhurst put its first runs of the day on the board in the bottom of the first. Scrimpsher singled home a run to tie the game at 1-1.
Karson Thomas' drove in a run on a fielder's choice to put the Bluejays in front 2-1.
Carthage pulled even at 2-2 in the third, but Elmhurst answered back in the bottom of the frame, scoring on a Scrimpsher RBI single and a Thomas RBI groundout to take a 4-2 lead. Carthage scored a run in the seventh to pull to within one, but Elmhurst used a two-out, two-run single from
Trey Compton in the ninth to tack on a pair of insurance runs.
Scrimpsher finished with three hits and two RBIs at the plate. Thomas and Compton drove in two runs apiece while
Chad Tucker finished with a pair of hits.
Scrimpsher continued to impress from the mound, improving to 3-0 on the season after tossing eight innings and allowing just one unearned runs. He scattered eight hits, did not issue a walk and fanned 10.
Alec Berry pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to record his third save of the season.
Elmhurst plays the final game of the three-game series against Carthage tomorrow (March 31) at Kenosha, Wis.
