JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst University baseball team split a doubleheader against Central College and Olivet College to open the weekend slate.

Elmhurst (2-3, 0-0 CCIW) began the afternoon with a defeat to Central College, 5-13, where the Bluejays gave up 21 hits in the contest. However, Elmhurst was able to bounce back in game two to take down Olivet College by a score of 14-6. Trey Romay had a huge game at the plate for Elmhurst, blasting a pair of home runs and tallying seven total RBI in a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. On the mound, Cole Bozzi twirled six innings, earning the win by giving up just three hits, one run, three walks and striking out nine batters on the evening. 

Early in game one, Elmhurst took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, but a five-run fifth inning from Central and another three runs in the ninth inning ultimately sealed the eight-run loss for the Bluejays. 

However, Elmhurst responded in a big way in game two against Olivet, tallying 14 runs on ten hits, including a trio of extra-base hits, to take a bounce-back win to end the evening. The Bluejays took a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a two-run single from Freddie March, and extended the lead to 5-0 after a three-run homer from Romay in the third inning. March added another RBI in the fifth with a ground-rule double. In the field, Bozzi worked around a few jams to limit Olivet to just one run in the third inning. 

The Bluejays blew the game open with a seven-run sixth inning, including three hits and an error from Olivet. Ryan Thrawl first reached based and advanced to second on a throwing error from the shortstop, and came around to score on a Jaden Mitchell single. Elmhurst then loaded the bases for Romay, who stepped up and mashed a grand slam to extend the score to 12-1. A groundout from Jack McGinnis completed the scoring for Elmhurst in the sixth, extending the score to 13-1 through six after Bozzi completed his outing working around a leadoff single.

The Bluejays again threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with one out, but nothing came of the rally. With Bozzi exiting the game to start the seventh, Olivet added a trio of runs to cut into the Elmhurst lead, but the Bluejays earned a run back in the top of the eighth after Thrawl scored on an error from the third baseman. Davis Maifield entered the game in the ninth, and worked around a single with three strikeouts to seal the blowout victory for Elmhurst.

UP NEXT

Elmhurst will be back in Jacksonville, Ill. tomorrow morning, March 5, yet again facing Olivet College and Central College at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CT.

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