By Dave Kisor
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- In the final game of the night, two key conditions were different at Fox Cities Stadium: the lights were on and the wind, which had been blowing in all day, stopped.
And against Shenandoah, Illinois Wesleyan batters took advantage of the conditions and did something twice in the first inning that no other team had done all day. Casey McIntosh and Jeff Grodecki each hit home runs, each of the two-run variety to stake the Titans to a 4-0 lead.
Brett Moore led off the bottom of the first with a single to left field. McIntosh then unloaded a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall against D3baseball.com All-American Greg Van Sickler. Following a strikeout, Ryan Hopp singled to left and history repeated itself as Grodecki delivered the ball over the left field fence in precisely the same place that McIntosh had hit his.
Van Sickler said Wesleyan's hitting at the start of the game was "like a punch in the face. They hit the ball around and I give them a lot of credit.
"I thought I made some good pitches ... I tip my hat to them."
Shenandoah fought back with two runs in the top of the second. Scot Van Dusseldorp was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Mike Smith drove the ball to right center field and what looked to be a routine fly ball turned out to be a three-base error. Van Dusseldorp scored on the error and Smith ended up at third. Keaton Neeb then singled to left, scoring Smith and cutting the Titans' lead in half, 4-2.
In the bottom of the second, Illinois Wesleyan answered with its fifth run of the game. Mike Morrissey reached base on a fielders' choice and moved to second when McIntosh was walked. Kevin Sullivan then singled to drive in Morrissey, making the score 5-2.
Shenandoah picked up a third run in the top of the third as Jesse Henry singled with two outs and scored on a Van Dusseldorp double to left, making the score 5-3.
Cory Nelson led off the sixth inning with a home run, off a 2-2 pitch, over the left field wall to draw Shenandoah within one at 5-4. "I thought it (the home run) might give us a little spark, but he [Illinois Wesleyan pitcher Jason Pankau] kept us off balance."
Illinois Wesleyan responded in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Moore doubled to center and then moved to third on a single by Morrissey. McIntosh flew out to right field, but the sac fly scored Moore to make the score 6-4.
The Titans kept pressing as they entered the bottom of the seventh. Hopp started the frame with a single to left center. Following two outs, Hopp attempted to steal second. The throw by catcher Neeb struck Hopp in the helmet and the ball ricocheted into left field, allowing Hopp to go to third. McDermott then singled in Hopp to extend the Titan lead to 7-4.
As the top of the ninth started, Shenandoah saw its chances running out. Kevin Brashears opened the inning with a double down the left field line. He advanced to third on a ground out by Henry and then scored on a Van Sickler single to left. This brought Shenandoah within two runs, but that is as close as the Hornets would come and the game ended with Illinois Wesleyan on top 7-5.
Shenandoah coach Kevin Anderson said he was "very proud of his players and that they competed well." He praised Pankau, who scattered 10 hits over nine innings, allowing three earned runs. He had seven strikeouts and walked just one Shenandoah batter in the complete game win. Pankau said "I did not even have to ask if I was coming out in the ninth. Coach said I was."
Illinois Wesleyan coach Dennis Martel stated how important this win was to the Titan program: "We were here a couple of years ago and took it on the chin; now we have a bunch of veterans and we weren't intimidated. We came out in the first inning and got those four runs and it took the edge off."
The win at the tournament solidified the best year ever for the Titans, but their work is not done as they face Heidelberg in round two.