(Palatine, IL) - Waubonsee Community College's baseball team moved to within a game of the .500 mark after taking a pair of wins at Harper College. The Chiefs (11-12-1) edged the Hawks 4-2 in the opener, scoring twice in the top of the seventh to pull out the victory. In game two Waubonsee jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back in completing the sweep of the doubleheader with a 12-4 triumph.
In the opener the Chiefs trailed 1-0 after the Hawks' Derek Elicier lofted a solo home run to right center field in the bottom of the third inning. In the top of the fifth Carter Wardell smacked a one-out double to left field and Van Harrington followed with a two-run homer to dead center field to put Waubonsee on top 2-1. Harper (1-19-1) then tied the game in the bottom half of the frame on a walk and two singles off Chiefs' reliever Brendan Wilson. However, with runners at first and third and no outs, Wilson got out of the jam with a little help from his friends. Chiefs' first baseman Mason Barnick snagged a two-hopper near the bag, stepped on first and quickly threw home to nail the Hawks potential go ahead run at the plate with catcher Garrett Bragg applying the tag at home.
The game remained tied at 2-all heading into the top of the seventh when Ryan Teuscher singled to center field and Adrian Zietara reached base on an infield single. Wardell followed with a deep fly-out to center and Teuscher tagged up and moved on to third base. Zietara then stole second base on the next pitch to put two runners in scoring position. Harrington then drilled the very next pitch to left field for a two-run single. In the bottom of the seventh Waubonsee's Sammy Habayeb set the Hawks down in order to end the game. The sophomore right-hander struck out four in two hitless innings of relief to earn the win. Harrington finish 2 for 3, driving in all four Waubonsee runs to go along with a stolen base and a run scored. Zietara went 1 for 3 with a run scored, a walk and two stolen bases, while Luis Rodriguez reached base three times, drawing three walks.
In game two the Chiefs scored five times in the second inning to take control early. A one-out, single to center by Quinn Sheehan loaded the bases for Robert Rosengarten. The Chiefs' catcher then ripped a two-run double to left center field to get Waubonsee on the board. Zietara followed with an infield single that scored Sheehan before Rosengarten made it 4-0 when he scored on a Harper error. Jason Daniels finished off the scoring in the second inning with a double to center field to drive in Zietara. The Chiefs added two more runs in the third and two more in the fifth to grab a 9-1 lead. Teuscher then capped off the Chiefs seventh inning by drilling a two-run homer to center field to highlight a three-run frame for the Chiefs.
Tuescher finished the game 3 for 3 with four runs scored and three driven in. Zietara also went 3 for 3 with a double, two runs scored and one knocked in. Rosengarten ended the game 2 for 3 with a double, three runs batted in and a run scored. Michael Klazura picked up the win scattering five hits over five innings of work, allowing just one run. For the game the Chiefs stole nine bases and have registered 77 thefts on the season in 24 games played.