Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University baseball team fell by a final score of 20–5 in seven innings Tuesday afternoon at Butterfield Park.
Carthage stormed out of the gate with a massive seven-run first inning and never looked back, scoring in six of eight offensive frames. While the Bluejays showed some fight in the middle innings, trimming the deficit to seven at one point, Carthage's relentless bats sealed the game with an eight-run outburst in the seventh. Carthage tallied 20 runs on 20 hits and took advantage of five Elmhurst errors and five hit-by-pitches. The Bluejays were outmatched early but managed to piece together a few scoring rallies of their own.
Brett Vercruysse led the Bluejay offense with two hits and two RBIs, including a two-run single in the fourth inning. Rock Smith also added two hits and drove in a run with an RBI single in the sixth. Adan Nieves scored once and doubled, while Erik Malott reached base twice and crossed the plate two times. On the mound, Jack Krueger took his first loss of the season, allowing seven runs in the opening frame. In relief, Landon Banaszynski and Fox Weymouth provided some stability, combining to allow just one earned run over 2.2 innings.
Carthage exploded in the first inning, putting up seven runs on six hits and a walk. The rally began with a two-run homer from M. Cairo, followed by a two-run single by Z. Tubbs and an RBI single from A. Gaca. The inning snowballed as Carthage drew walks and capitalized on defensive miscues to bat around and build a 7–0 lead. The second inning brought more of the same for Carthage, as J. Zuleger launched a solo homer and C. Callahan added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 9–0.
In the fourth, Carthage tacked on two more runs on a hit-by-pitch and a Zuleger RBI single. Elmhurst finally broke through in the bottom half when Adan Nieves scored on a wild pitch, and Vercruysse followed with a two-run single to cut the lead to 11–3. Carthage added one in the fifth on another RBI single from A. Gaca.
Elmhurst continued to chip away in the sixth. Rock Smith drove in Logan Bryant with an infield single, and Evan Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 12–5. But Carthage crushed any hope of a comeback in the seventh with an eight-run rally. The outburst included a two-run single from P. Moser, a sacrifice fly from D. Knecht, and RBI hits from K. Krekling, Callahan, and Cairo. The inning was aided by multiple errors and a pair of hit batters as the Firebirds pulled away for good.
Carthage's bullpen shut things down the rest of the way, holding Elmhurst scoreless over the final three innings to lock in a 20–5 victory.
UP NEXT
The Bluejays head to Carol Stream for a matchup with Wheaton this Thursday, April 10 at 6:00 p.m.
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