BLOOMINGTON - Ricky Angel delivered another powerhouse performance at the plate. Matt Aronson, Rob Inzinga and Travis Myers were typically dominant on the mound.
It was just another day at the office for the red-hot Illinois Wesleyan baseball team.
Angel slugged two homers in the first game and went 6-for-8 overall with five RBI. The IWU hurlers took care of the rest Saturday as the Titans posted a pair of 5-2 wins over Carthage to complete a sweep of their three-game series at Jack Horenberger Field.
"These were three huge wins," Angel said. "The pitchers really set the tone. We couldn't have asked for three better games in this series - pitching, defense, everything. Everyone really stepped up."
The Titans, who have won 18 of their last 19 games, improved to 22-8 overall and 15-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Carthage, which suffered a 7-0 loss to IWU in Friday's series opener, dropped to 17-11 and 9-5.
"They played awesome," said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt. "They didn't make a mistake, and they didn't give us any chances that we didn't earn. We didn't quite play as well as maybe we thought we could, but you've got to give them credit.
"I think it's been 10 years since somebody has beaten us three times in a row. They're riding the wave and they deserve it. They definitely were the better team this weekend."
Angel hit a solo homer in the first inning to jump-start the Titans in the opener. He added a two-run blast to highlight a four-run rally in the third that gave IWU all the cushion it needed in the seven-inning contest.
"I knew they were going to try to come in on me so I was kind of sitting on an inside fastball and (Carthage starter Jeff Livek) just happened to throw it and I got a good swing on (both homers)," Angel said.
Angel, a junior second baseman, went 3-for-4 in both games while raising his team-high batting average to .469. He also leads the Titans with nine home runs and 36 RBI.
"It was the Ricky Angel Show offensively," said IWU coach Dennis Martel. "He was a man. He just took over both games with his bat. He continues to amaze us. He's such a great player.
"He stepped up and continually got big hit after big hit. The good ones do that for you."
Aronson (5-0) won the opener despite seeing his season-long scoreless inning streak snapped at 41 on an RBI single David Wuis in the second. The senior left-hander allowed five hits and two earned runs in six innings. Aronson still boasts a microscopic 0.39 earned run average.
Inzinga (5-1) was even better in the nightcap, limiting the Red Men to four hits and no earned runs in 7.2 innings. The senior right-hander struck out eight and walked one.
"I had a little bit of a shaky first inning and threw a bunch of pitches but I ended up settling down," Inzinga said. "We got a couple of runs and I got to pitch with a lead, and that's been our strength all season.
"My curveball was working, and I was able to spot my fastball towards the middle innings and that made it a lot easier to get ahead in the count."
Myers saved both games to run his season total to six. Carthage hit into game-ending double plays in each contest.
IWU also received a two-run single from No. 9 hitter Mike Cunningham in the opener and RBI hits from Mike Berry, Nate Rittenberry and Casey McIntosh in the nightcap.
"It was pitching, defense and timely hitting again," Martel said.
