By Zane
Gonzalez I @ZaneGonzo36
CHICAGO, Ill
– The Titans (9-12, 2-2) traveled to Chicago to continue their conference
season against St. Xavier University (11-17, 3-1).
Coming off a
huge offensive showing IUSB couldn’t seem to pick up where they left off, only
having one hit in their 1-2 loss in game one.
The Titans
found their stride again in game two tallying 9 hits, but it was the defenses 6
errors that hurt the Titans in game twos 3-4 loss.
Junior RHP
Paul Geha (0-2) started game one for the Titans only lasting 0.2 of an inning
before being replaced by Sophomore Tyler Reece. Geha gave up 2 runs in his
short stint on the mound, but struggled finding the zone walking 2, leading to
Coach Mike Huling’s decision to take out the Right-Hander from Fort Wayne, Ind.
Tyler Reece
was immaculate out of the bullpen for IUSB going 5.1 innings, giving up no runs
on just 1 hit. Reece really kept the Titans in the game, but didn’t have any
offensive support to back up his performance on the mound.
The Titan
offense was silenced in game one by St. Xavier’s Tyler Hebel (2-3). Hebel threw
a complete game only allowing one hit to the Titans.
Junior OF
Brandon Papp had the lone hit for IUSB with a double down the line in the fifth
inning.
Senior 2B
Sammy Nieves bunted home Senior Chris Mangus for the only Titan run in game
one.
Game two saw
another exceptional performance on the mound for the Titans. Junior RHP Ben
Wicklund started the game throwing 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits.
Unfortunately, the Achilles Heel for the Titans was defense as none of
Wicklunds runs were earned.
Junior LHP
Zane Gonzalez (1-1) entered the game in the eighth inning with a 3-3 tie. The
southpaw from Grand Rapids, Mich. couldn’t hold off St. Xavier allowing one run
on just one hit. Following Wicklund’s path Gonzalez’s run was also unearned.
Gonzalez
received the loss in his one inning of work for the Titans.
The Titans
offense came to life again in game two tagging 9 hits, with three players
having multi-hit games. Senior Kevin Phelps had 2 RBI’s for the Titans, while
Junior Nick Kellams got out of his funk going 2 for 3.
The big
story for the Titans in game two was defense. The Titans made 6 errors in the
game leading to 4 unearned runs that seemed to come back to haunt them.
IUSB
continues their conference season with a three-game series with the University
of Saint Francis starting Saturday, April 1. The Titans need a series win to
really propel themselves in the right direction for the remainder of the
conference season.