Ichabod bats stymied in sweep by Division I Western Illinois Saturday

March 10, 2007

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score | Season Stats



Ichabod starting pitcher Jeff LaCerte threw seven shutout innings Saturday but couldn’t get any run support as Western Illinois broke through in extra innings for a 1-0 win over Washburn in game one of a doubleheader at Falley Field. The Leathernecks’ bats struck early in the second game as they completed the sweep with a 7-0 win. Washburn fell to 1-4 with the losses while NCAA Division I Western Illinois went to 8-7. The two teams will wrap up the series with a 1 p.m. game Sunday at Falley Field.

Game 1
LaCerte threw seven straight shutout innings against WIU but got no help from the Washburn bats. Going into the top of the eight scoreless the Leathernecks scored on a one-out triple to right field and then an RBI single. Washburn failed to score in the bottom of the inning to drop the opener 1-0.

LaCerte got in a jam early when the first two batters in the second inning reached on a walk and a single. He struck out the next batter and then got the fourth to fly out. After a single loaded the bases LaCerte got out of the inning with a strikeout.

Washburn had its only runner reach third base when Nick Barnes led off the third by reaching on an error. Nathan Proctor then advanced him to second on a sacrifice bunt and Dan Egan’s soft single to right moved him to third but he stayed there the rest of the inning.

Washburn had seven base runners in the game off three hits, three walks and an error. The Ichabods left four on base, two were picked off and one was caught stealing.

LaCerte went 7 1/3 as he struck out four, walked two and gave up the run. He dropped to 0-1 after his second start. The win went to WIU starter Quinn Leath while Todd Nelson got the save.

Game 2
Washburn once again failed to get its bats going and this time around the Leathernecks broke through early for a 7-0 win.

The Ichabods had a small threat in the first when Tommy Mangino reached on an error with two outs. Mark Stoltz then had an infield single but Zach Walton flied out to right to end the first inning.

WIU scored runs in each of the next three innings. In the second inning Peter Schneider led off with a triple and then he was driven in on a ground out. In the third the Leathernecks scored three runs off three hits and then they got two more in the fourth off a hit and an error.

Washburn got its second and last hit of the game in the fourth when Jeff Maxon reached on a pinch-hit single up the middle. The Ichabods failed to produce a base runner the rest of the game.

Junior Bryan Stroth, making his first appeance after transferring and redshirting last year, pitched six innings for Washburn. He gave up six runs, four earned, off six hits and two walks. Junior Zach Engelken pitched two innings of relief, giving up a run and then sophomore Chris Contee pitched a shutout seventh.

Western Illinois’ Travis Tolsma got the win with five innings of two-hit shutout baseball.