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June 12
Illinois Wesleyan’s Cory Lapinski and Drew Himes have signed professional contracts with the Houston Astros organization and will report to Troy, N.Y., to play for the Tri-City ValleyCats. The ValleyCats are in the New York-Penn League, a short season Class A minor league with a season running from June 21 to Sept. 8. A lefthanded pitcher, Lapinski was the 344th selection in the 2005 amateur draft, picked in the 11th round, while Himes (a righthanded hurler) was the 584th overall pick as he was selected by the Astros in the 19th round.
June 8
One day after his college teammate was drafted in the 11th round, Illinois Wesleyan righthanded pitcher Drew Himes became the 584th overall pick as he was selected by the Houston Astros in the 19th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball amateur draft on Wed., June 8. A day earlier, IWU lefthander Cory Lapinski was the 344th selection in the draft, going in the 11th round also to the Astros. Like Lapinski, Himes had an 8-1 record for the Titans this spring. Himes, a Princeton, Ill. (HS) product, had an ERA of 2.76 with 58 strikeouts in a team-high 75 innings. A first team all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin choice, Himes fanned 14 in a game against Wheaton and struck out 10 vs. North Central.
June 7
Illinois Wesleyan lefthanded pitcher Cory Lapinski was the 344th selection in the 2005 Major League Baseball amateur draft, picked in the 11th round by the Houston Astros on Tues., June 7. Lapinski, who just completed his junior year at IWU, was the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Division III Central Region “Pitcher of the Year” and was the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Player of the Year.” He finished the season with an 8-1 record and a 1.91 earned run average. He struck out a school record 117 batters in 66 innings and opponents hit a mere .140 against him. He struck out 19 against Augustana and 18 in a Division III regional game against Wartburg.
May 26
Seniors Mick Curran and Jason Shearn and junior Cory Lapinski have been chosen as the winners of the “Most Valuable Player” award for the 2005 Illinois Wesleyan baseball team. Lapinski was also named the “Most Valuable Pitcher” and Shearn also won the “Best Defensive” award for IWU, who finished with a 34-13 record, won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin title and advanced to the NCAA Division III regional tournament for the second straight season. IWU finished No. 13 in the final national Division III coaches poll. In other team honors for the Titans, Brandon DuBois, John Wantiez and Robert Inzinga won the “Most Improved Player” honor and Ricky Angel took the “Top Newcomer” award. DuBois, Patrick McWilliams, and Billy Spieth shared the “Titan Award,” given for hustle and competitive attitude. Curran, Lapinski, and Angel were also named first team all-region and Drew Himes earned second team all-region. Lapinski was chosen as the region's "Pitcher of the Year" and Aurora's Jay Lavender was the "Hitter of the Year".
May 21
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball season ended on Sat., May 21, in an 11-5 loss to Wartburg in the NCAA Division III Central Regional at IWU’s Horenberger Field. The Titans tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth on a home run by Joe Howard but Wartburg erupted for eight runs on 10 hits in the bottom of the inning to secure the game. IWU’s final record was 34-13. The Titans won earlier in the day, 7-0, behind Drew Himes and Ryne Haag’s combined four-hit shutout of Ripon. Offensively, IWU got five runs in the third inning vs. Ripon with a three-run home run by Howard the big blow. Third baseman Mick Curran and rightfielder Nick Chilczenkowski had three hits apiece.
May 20
A brilliant pitching performance by Cory Lapinski was wasted in a 1-0 loss to Wartburg in the NCAA Division III Central Regional at Horenberger Field on Fri., May 20. Lapinski fanned 18 batters, including 10 in a row at one time, but was tagged for two hits (the only two he allowed) and two stolen bases amounting to one run in the eighth. The Titans managed only three hits with two from Pat Cinquegrani and Mick Curran's hitting streak was snapped at 28. IWU (33-12) will play Ripon at 3 p.m. on Sat., May 21 and the winner of that game will face Wartburg at 6 p.m.
Earlier on Friday, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Nick Chilczenkowski drove in Nate Rittenberry and Cory Lapinski with a single to leftfield to give IWU (33-11) a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Edgewood in the first round of the NCAA Division III regional. Robert Inzinga pitched all seven innings of the suspended game to go to 4-0. Edgewood is 27-16.
May 17
Illinois Wesleyan junior Cory Lapinski has been named “Player of the Year” for baseball in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Lapinski is 8-0 with a 2.05 ERA on the mound, striking out 99 and giving up 30 hits in 57 innings. At the plate, he is hitting .296 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI. Including Lapinski, IWU had three players on the first team and four on the second team. Ricky Angel, pitcher Drew Himes and Mick Curran were first team selections while second team picks were catcher Jason Shearn, shortstop Pat Cinquegrani and outfielders Joe Howard and Nick Chilczenkowski. Dennis Martel and Augustana's Greg Wallace were named co-winners of the "Coach of the Year" award. The Titans won both the CCIW regular season and postseason tournament and play Edgewood in the Division III Regional Thursday at Horenberger Field.
May 16
Illinois Wesleyan is the No. 3 seed and will serve as the host school for a 2005 NCAA Division III regional, beginning Thurs., May 19 at Horenberger Field. The 32-11 Titans will play No. 4 seed Edgewood (26-14) at 6 p.m. Thursday. The 12 p.m. game will feature No. 1 seed Aurora (34-7) vs. No. 6 Ripon (22-13) and the 3 p.m. game will pit No. 2 Wartburg (31-9) against No. 5 Washington U. (31-8). IWU won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship for the second straight season last weekend as senior third baseman Mick Curran extended his hitting streak to 27 games.
May 14
For the second straight season, Illinois Wesleyan has won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball championship and will represent the league in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Titans, 32-11, topped Augustana, 7-5 in the championship of the CCIW tourney at Horenberger Field on Sat., May 14. Ricky Angel hit a ninth inning home run and Brian McCabe hit a double and scored on Joe Howard's single to give IWU two runs and snap a 5-5 tie. Robert Inzinga (3-0) was the winning pitcher in relief of Brandon DuBois and John Wantiez picked up his third save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
May 13
Illinois Wesleyan will play for the championship of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament at 2:30 p.m. on Sat., May 14 after two tourney wins on Friday the 13th at Horenberger Field. The Titans (31-11) downed North Central, 6-2, and topped Carthage, 6-1. Drew Himes pitched a complete game eight hitter in the first game, striking out 10 and walking only one and Cory Lapinski struck out 14 in eight innings against Carthage. Mick Curran extended his hitting streak to 26 games with three hits in the opener and two in the second game with a home run in each. Lapinski and Joe Howard also homered in the first game and Ricky Angel had three hits in the first and two more in the second game. The Titans play the winner of the 11 a.m. Saturday game between Augustana and Carthage.
May 10
Wildness (12 walks and six wild pitches) hurt the Illinois Wesleyan pitching staff in an 11-9 nonconference loss to Blackburn on Tues., May 10 at Horenberger Field. Freshman second baseman Ricky Angel had three runs batted in on two doubles while Brian McCabe homered for the second straight night and Cory Lapinski hit his 11th home run of the season. Blackburn (26-12) banged out 12 hits in addition to the 12 free passes and stranded 11 men. The No. 21-ranked Titans fell to 29-11.
May 9
Solo home runs by Brian McCabe and Nick Chilczenkowski put Illinois Wesleyan ahead, 3-1, after seven innings, but Aurora scored three in the top of the eighth and took a 4-3 nonconference win at Horenberger Field on Mon., May 9. The Titans, ranked No. 21 in the latest NCAA Division III poll, fell to 29-10 as the No. 9-ranked Spartans improved to 31-7. Robert Inzinga started the game for IWU and pitched four innings of perfect ball before being nicked for a walk, a hit and a run in the fifth. Dave Dobosz (3-1) took the loss.
May 8
The Illinois Wesleyan Titans improved to 29-9 overall and won the regular season phase of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title with a 17-2 pasting of North Park in Chicago on Sun., May 8. The Titans were led by Mick Curran and Ricky Angel, who had three hits each, Pat Cinquegrani with three runs batted in, and an inside the park grand slam home run by Nick Chilczenkowski. Brandon DuBois improved to 6-1 with five innings of four-hit ball and Tod Moore pitched two scoreless frames. The Titans will meet North Central in the first round of the CCIW tourney, which will be at Horenberger Field May 13-14.
May 7
Illinois Wesleyan got solid pitching performances from Cory Lapinski and Drew Himes as the Titans earned a doubleheader sweep at North Park on Sat., May 7. IWU improved to 27-9 overall and 17-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a 9-0 win in the first game behind Lapinski's six-inning two-hitter and a come-from-behind 6-4 win in the nightcap. Trailing 4-3 with two outs in the top of the ninth, Mick Curran's two-run homer put IWU ahead 5-4. Doubles by Joe Howard and Nick Chilczenkowski gave Himes the insurance run.
May 5
The Illinois Wesleyan offense was limited to three hits and lost, 4-2, to Benedictine in Lisle, Ill., on Thurs., May 5. The Titans are 26-9 overall. With the game tied at 2-2, the Eagles plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to gain the win. Pat Cinquegrani, Mick Curran and Brian McCabe accounted for the Titans’ only hits, all singles. IWU used six pitchers and got three scoreless innings from starter Mike Berry. IWU plays a three-game College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin series at North Park this weekend.
May 4
Ryan Gilbert and Travis Myers combined for 5 1/3 innings of solid relief pitching and the Illinois Wesleyan offense banged out 17 hits in an 11-6 win over Greenville on Wed., May 4 at Horenberger Field. The Titans (26-8) got three hits each from Joe Howard and Nick Chilczenkowski and two hits each from Ricky Angel, Pat Cinquegrani, Cory Lapinski, Mick Curran and Josh Bidzinski. Curran and Chilczenkowski each had three runs batted in and Curran hit his eighth homer. Gilbert allowed one run and five hits in 3 1/3 innings and Myers allowed one run and two hits in two frames. Tod Moore pitched three shutout innings and allowed only one hit.
May 3
In the second annual Horenberger-Bass Classic, Division I Illinois State scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to claim a 7-6 win over Illinois Wesleyan at Redbird Field on Tues., May 3. The Titans (25-8 overall) got three hits each from Cory Lapinski, Nick Chilczenkowski, and Joe Howard, while Mick Curran and Jason Shearn each had two in the 15-hit barrage. Howard also accounted for two of the Titans’ runs batted in. IWU head coach Dennis Martel and assistant coach Matt Willey were ejected from the game for arguing calls in the fourth inning.
May 2
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin might want to rename the baseball "Pitcher of the Week" honor to the "Cory Lapinski Award." The Illinois Wesleyan junior lefthander received his second straight CCIW honor and fourth of the year. Lapinski struck out 13 of the 17 outs he got in 5 2/3 innings against Elmhurst and gave up one run on four hits in an 11-2 victory.
Including the back-to-back times junior righthander Brandon Dubois earned the honor, IWU pitchers have received the CCIW award six out of nine times this year.
Carthage's Ryan Polcyn was named the CCIW "Batter of the Week" as he hit .625 with 10 hits in 16 at-bats. He scored six runs, had one home run and four RBI. He was five for five in a game against Millikin on April 30.
May 2
Illinois Wesleyan plated four runs in the fourth and five in the seventh and earned a 10-3 win over Elmhurst at Horenberger Field on Mon., May 2. The Titans improved to 25-7 overall and 15-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while Elmhurst slipped to 15-20, 9-9 CCIW. Brandon DuBois (5-1) pitched eight innings and scattered 10 hits with only two earned runs. Pat Cinquegrani and Mike Berry each had three hits while Ricky Angel drove in three runs and Mick Curran also drove home three runs and hit a home run in his third straight game.
April 30
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team improved to 14-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a doubleheader sweep at Elmhurst on Sat., April 30. The No. 22-ranked Titans (24-7 overall) downed the Bluejays, 11-2 in the first game and 14-5 in the nightcap. Cory Lapinski struck out 13 in 5 2/3 innings and got offensive support from Ricky Angel (three hits) and Joe Howard (two hits, three RBI). In game two, Mick Curran, Pat Cinquegrani and Nick Chilczenkowski all had homers among their three-hit games and Chilczenkowski had four RBI. The Titans host Elmhurst Mon., May 2, at 6 p.m. in the makeup of Friday’s rainout.
April 26
For the third time this season, Illinois Wesleyan junior lefthander Cory Lapinski has been chosen “Pitcher of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. Lapinski shut out No. 7-ranked Carthage, 2-0, on April 24 as he struck out 10 and allowed only three hits. He walked five and hit a pair of batters but he stranded 10 baserunners in the seven-inning complete game as he ended four innings with swinging strikeouts. Augustana’s Joe Cruse batted .647 in five games last week and was CCIW “Batter of the Week.” The Titans’ nonconference game against MacMurray on Wed., April 27, is cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.
April 24
Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage battled to a split on the Horenberger Field baseball diamond on Sun., April 24. The Titans, behind the three-hit pitching of Cory Lapinski, won the opener 2-0, and lost the nightcap, 5-4. Lapinski struck out 10 in the win with offensive help from Ricky Angel’s two hits and run batted in. The Redmen (24-7) banged out 15 hits in the second game and leaves both teams at 12-3 and tied for first in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Pat Cinquegrani had two hits (including a home run) and Brian McCabe also had two hits in game two for IWU, now 22-7 overall.
April 23
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team committed four errors that led to three unearned runs as the Titans lost to Carthage, 8-4, on Sat., April 23 at Horenberger Field. Ricky Angel and Cory Lapinski each had two hits as IWU had eight hits in the game. Drew Himes allowed seven hits and four earned runs in six innings as he lost his first game in five decisions. Ryne Haag struck out two in 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. IWU (21-6) and Carthage (23-6) are both 11-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and play a doubleheader on Sunday, April 24, beginning at noon in Bloomington.
April 20
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team's 11-game winning streak was halted by a 1-0 shutout loss to Illinois Institute of Technology on Wed., April 20 at Horenberger Field. Nick Chilczenkowski had two of IWU's six hits. The Titans (21-5 overall) tied their own NCAA Division III record by using eight relief pitchers in a game. Tod Moore started and was relieved by Austin Schwartz, Ryan Gilbert, Ryne Haag, Russ Koper, Sean Milligan, Mike Berry, Nate Just and John Wantiez.
April 19
Mick Curran, Brian McCabe, and Cory Lapinski all slugged home runs and Dave Dobosz pitched seven strong innings as Illinois Wesleyan took a nonconference game from Washington U., 7-3, on Tues., April 19 at Horenberger Field. Curran had three hits and two RBI and McCabe’s shot was a three-run homer. Lapinski’s home run was his 10th of the season. Dobosz (3-0) scattered nine hits and struck out eight and Robert Inzinga pitched two scoreless frames and fanned two. The Titans, winners of 11 straight games, improved to 21-4 and the Bears are now 27-7.
April 16
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team won a pair of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin games at Wheaton on Sat., April 16, taking game one by a 16-15 count and winning, 11-4, in the nightcap. In the opener, Pat Cinquegrani had three hits and four runs batted in, Brian McCabe had three hits and three RBI, and Cory Lapinski and Mick Curran also had three runs batted in. In game two, Lapinski had three more runs batted in and Jason Shearn had two RBI while Ricky Angel had three hits. Junior righthander Brandon DuBois scattered 11 hits and struck out six in the nine-inning complete game for No. 16-ranked Illinois Wesleyan, now 20-4 overall and 11-1 in the CCIW.
April 15
Junior righthander Drew Himes struck out 14 in eight innings and Brian McCabe cracked a three-run home run in the five-run sixth as Illinois Wesleyan downed Wheaton, 6-3, at Horenberger Field on Fri., April 15. Himes allowed five hits and walked three as he tied for sixth most strikeouts in a single game in IWU history. McCabe, Mike Berry and Pat Cinquegrani all had two hits each as the No. 16-ranked Titans improved to 18-4 overall and 9-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
April 13
Illinois Wesleyan exploded for nine runs in the seventh inning to close out Millikin, 15-3, in Decatur on Wed., April 13. Leftfielder Joe Howard had two hits, including a home run, and four runs batted in and designated hitter Mike Berry had a bases-loaded double for three runs batted in to pace the No. 16-nationally ranked Titans. Centerfielder Cory Lapinski also knocked in three runs with a pair of hits. Junior lefthander Dave Dobosz was the winning pitcher for IWU (15-4 overall and 8-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) as he scattered seven hits and struck out five in six innings of work.
April 11
Illinois Wesleyan freshman second baseman Ricky Angel has been chosen as the “Hitter of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin for the week ending April 10. Angel batted .579 with 11 hits in 19 at-bats as the No. 16-nationally ranked Titans went 5-0 on the week and improved to 14-4. He had nine RBI with a double and a home run while walking twice. He had a slugging percentage of .789 and is currently working on an eight game hitting streak. He had three-hit games in CCIW victories over Millikin and North Central and he drove in four runs against the Cardinals on April 9.
April 10
Illinois Wesleyan junior leftfielder Joe Howard was three-for-four with a home run and three runs batted in and rightfielder Nick Chilczenkowski had three hits (two doubles) and three runs batted in to power the Illinois Wesleyan baseball team to a 10-2 win over North Central on Sun., April 10 in Naperville. The Titans improved to 14-4 overall and 7-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Cardinals are 7-12, 4-4 CCIW. Cory Lapinski struck out nine in six innings and picked up the pitching victory. He also had two hits and two RBI.
April 9
Illinois Wesleyan junior righthander Drew Himes scattered five hits and struck out eight as Illinois Wesleyan won the first game of a doubleheader with North Central, 3-0, on Sat., April 9 at Horenberger Field. Then the Titans scored seven in the seventh to rally for a 12-7 win in the nightcap and improve to 13-4 overall and 6-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Himes got offensive help from Pat Cinquegrani and Nick Chilczenkowski with two hits each. Russ Koper got the win in the second game as Ricky Angel had three hits and four RBI, Cory Lapinski and Mick Curran had three hits apiece and Jason Shearn had two hits and two RBI.
April 7
Illinois Wesleyan junior lefthander Cory Lapinski has earned honorable mention “Pitcher of the Week” for Division III by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Lapinski struck out 24 in 13 innings in two games last week, including a school-record 19 strikeouts vs. Augustana on April 3. Josh Spitzack of Gustavus Adolphus was the NCBWA national “Pitcher of the Week” as he tossed a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over Carleton on April 2. Jason Ortwerth of Washington (Mo.) and Eastern Connecticut’s Ryan DiPietro were other national honorable mention pitchers. Both had 0.00 ERAs with 2-0 records. Ortwerth struck out eight in 14 innings and DiPietro fanned 20 in 13 1/3 innings. The national "Hitter of the Week" is outfielder Eric Baldwin of Wisconsin-Whitewater, who hit .615 with 14 RBI, 12 runs scored, five doubles, a triple, and four home runs in helping the Warhawks go 6-0.
April 5
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team swept a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin doubleheader from Millikin on Tues., April 5 at Horenberger Field. Behind the three-hit complete game pitching of Robert Inzinga, the Titans won game one, 9-0, then a ninth-inning bases-loaded single by Ricky Angel plated two runs as IWU won the nightcap, 8-7.IWU is 4-1 in CCIW play. Cory Lapinski smacked two home runs and Nick Chilczenkowski had three hits in game one, while Jason Shearn had three hits in game two. Angel and Mick Curran had two hits and Pat Cinquegrani drove in three runs in the nightcap.
April 5
Illinois Wesleyan junior lefthander Cory Lapinski has been selected as the “Pitcher of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin for the week ending April 3. On April 3, Lapinski struck out 19 enemy hitters as IWU (11-4, 2-1 CCIW) toppled Augustana, 6-1. Lapinski’s total is a new nine-inning IWU record, eclipsing the old mark of 17 set by Ralph Bruck against Elmhurst in 1954. The IWU game record is 20 by Bill Marsh in 12 innings against Illinois State in 1948. Earlier in the week Lapinski struck out five in two shutout innings in a 9-8 win over Monmouth.
April 3
Junior lefthander Cory Lapinski (3-0) struck out 19 enemy hitters and the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team coasted to a 6-1 win over Augustana on Sun., April 3 at Horenberger Field. The Titans improved to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Lapinski’s total is a new nine-inning IWU record, eclipsing the old mark of 17 set by Ralph Bruck against Elmhurst in 1954. The IWU game record is 20 by Bill Marsh in 12 innings against Illinois State in 1948. On offense, shortstop Pat Cinquegrani scored two runs and batted home two more to support Lapinski’s gem.
April 2
Illinois Wesleyan split its conference-opening doubleheader at Augustana on Sat., April 2, winning the opener, 4-2, before losing the nightcap, 8-7. Drew Himes allowed four hits and struck out seven in six innings in the first game and Mike Berry picked up his fourth save. Ricky Angel had three hits for IWU (10-4, 1-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) and Cory Lapinski had a first inning homer. The Titans allowed four runs in the bottom of the ninth in the second game. Lapinski, Nick Chilczenkowski and Mick Curran all had home runs for the Titans and Curran had three hits. IWU hosts Augie in a 1 p.m. game Sun., April 3.
March 30
Leftfielder Joe Howard slammed two home runs with four runs batted in and Brian McCabe hit another homer with three RBI as Illinois Wesleyan came from behind to defeat Monmouth, 9-8, on a rainy, windy afternoon at Horenberger Field on Wed., March 30. Howard and McCabe each had three hits and Mick Curran had two as IWU improved to 9-3. Dave Dobosz (1-0) was the winning pitcher as he and Cory Lapinski (who struck out five) each tossed two innings of shutout relief and Mike Berry collected his third save with a shutout ninth inning.
March 29
For the second straight week, Illinois Wesleyan junior righthander Brandon DuBois (Beecher, Ill. HS) has been selected as the “Pitcher of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. DuBois pitched his second win in six days against Concordia (Ill.), as IWU topped the Cougars, 8-1 on March 24. He scattered four hits and allowed only one unearned run in eight innings as he improved to 3-0. For the season DuBois has pitched 20 innings, allowed 13 hits, struck out 10 and has yet to give up an earned run.
March 26
Illinois Wesleyan gave up two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to fall to Simpson, 5-4, at Horenberger Field on Sat., March 26. Joe Howard got three singles and drove home two runs while Brian McCabe and Cory Lapinski each had a pair of hits for the Titans. Drew Himes started the game and allowed one run on six hits in seven innings. Mike Berry (0-1) took the pitching loss as IWU fell to 8-3 overall.
March 24
Illinois Wesleyan junior righthander Brandon DuBois pitched his second win in six days against Concordia (Ill.), as IWU topped the Cougars, 8-1 at Horenberger Field on Thurs., March 24. DuBois, the current College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin "Pitcher of the Week", scattered four hits and allowed only one unearned run in eight inning as he improved to 3-0. Jason Shearn had two hits and two RBI and Dave Dobosz also had two hits as every Titan starter got a hit. IWU improved to 8-2.
March 19-20
Illinois Wesleyan took a three-game sweep in St. Louis over the weekend, winning 9-1 on Sun., March 20 over Milwaukee School of Engineering, after taking a pair from Concordia (Ill.) on Sat., March 19, by scores of 10-9 and 7-0. Cory Lapinski was the winning pitcher against MSOE. In the first game vs. Concordia, IWU fell behind 9-1, but rallied for three in the fourth and six in the sixth. Travis Myers relieved starter Drew Himes in the fifth and gave up just one hit in two innings. Nate Rittenberry tripled and drove in two runs, Dave Dobosz tripled, singled and drove in a run, and Brian McCabe had two hits. The second game was scoreless until the seventh, when IWU scored seven runs. Brandon Dubois improved to 2-0 as he shut out Concordia on four hits in six innings, striking out five. Pat Cinquegrani and Joe Howard each drove in two runs and Ricky Angel had two hits to lead the offense.
March 17
Illinois Wesleyan managed only four hits in losing at Division II Christian Brothers, 10-3, on Thurs., March 17 in Memphis, Tenn. Shortstop Pat Cinquegrani helped the Titans (4-2) out to a 2-0 lead, but the Buccaneers got three-run home runs from Shane Hogan (in the fourth) and Blake Christian (in the fifth) to open the game up. Ryan Gilbert was tagged with the pitching loss as he allowed five earned runs and struck out three in four innings.
March 16
Illinois Wesleyan split a pair of games on Wed., March 16, toppling Mississippi College, 11-3, in the completion of a suspended game the day before, then losing for the first time this year, 14-4, at Millsaps. Against Mississippi College, Robert Inzinga tossed six innings of two-hit ball as Mick Curran and Joe Howard each had three hits and Cory Lapinski hit a three-run home run. Nick Chilczenkowski had two runs batted in against the Millsaps Majors as the Titans (4-1) gathered seven hits and committed three errors.
March 15
Illinois Wesleyan junior Cory Lapinski was selected as the “Pitcher of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin for the week ending March 13. Lapinski allowed just one hit and struck out eight in five innings as he won a 5-0 decision against Huntingdon (Ala.). Wheaton's Matt Price was named "Batter of the Week" as he helped lead Wheaton to a 4-2 record on its six-game trip to Arizona. He went 11 for 22 at the plate (.500) and had a slugging percentage of .955. He drove in nine runs and scored 11 while hitting two homers and four doubles.
March 13
Illinois Wesleyan improved to 3-0 with two victories in Memphis, Tenn., on Sun., March 13. The Titans downed Huntingdon (Ala.), 5-0, as junior Cory Lapinski struck out eight in five innings and sophomore Mike Berry struck out the side in the ninth. Nick Chilczenkowski drove home a pair of runs. Brandon DuBois was the winning hurler in a 2-0 win over Rhodes as Chilczenkowski batted home another run (his ninth in three games) and Berry picked up his first sace of the year.
March 12
Nick Chilczenkowski had a three-run triple and a three-run home run to finish with six runs batted in and lead the Illinois Wesleyan baseball team to a 15-2 season-opening win over Westminster (Mo.), in a game at Memphis, Tenn., on Sat., March 12. Cory Lapinski and Ricky Angel also hit home runs in support of winning pitcher Drew Himes (1-0), who scattered six hits and allowed two runs in seven innings.
March 8
The Illinois Wesleyan baseball Titans open their spring trip against Westminster (Mo.) on Sat., March 12, at 12:30 p.m. in Memphis, Tenn. The Titans were 28-19 in 2004, won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin title and advanced to the NCAA Division III regional tourney. Senior Mick Curran and junior Cory Lapinski were the co-winners of the “Most Valuable Player” and “Best Defensive” awards in 2004. Curran hit .383 with five home runs, 14 doubles and 36 RBI. Lapinski led IWU with a .397 average and set IWU records with 73 hits and 184 at bats.
