The College of DuPage baseball team had some rust to shake off on March 27, playing their first game of the week after four postponements at home. COD battled Madison College, who took an early 5-3 lead in the bitter 40 degree Fahrenheit weather. Even though the Chaparrals outhit the WolfPack 13-8, they couldn’t capitalize on their offensive success, losing 11-7 and leaving their record at 3-6.
“We physically competed with a great baseball program in Madison College,” assistant coach Matt Gould said. “We hung right with them. But, as it often is, the little things like catching and throwing the ball [was] the difference maker.”
Freshman infielder Jack Wade recorded two hits in five at-bats. Wade opened the scoring for COD in the second inning, slugging his first home run of the season. He scored two total runs and added one RBI.
“[Madison’s] pitcher was starting off with fastballs to everyone before me,” Wade said. “That’s what I was [looking for]. I went up there, saw the ball and decided to swing. I made good contact.”
Freshman pitcher Mike Biscan took the mound during the third inning and pitched through four innings. Biscan threw two strikeouts and two walks, and allowed four hits and five runs.
“I was happy to see Biscan come in and do his job,” Gould said. “He’s usually a starter for us. When it was switched from a doubleheader to a single game, we asked him to step in and do his role a little bit differently; he didn’t bat an eye.”
Sophomore outfielder Aden Aukland made one hit in three at-bats. He also scored one run, driven in by Matt McBrien in the sixth inning. He said the Chaps could’ve beaten the WolfPack with cleaner defensive plays.
“A lot of it is just mental,” Aukland said. “We had four errors today, and most of them were on easy plays. We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. I’m not worried about it; we’re really close to figuring it out.”
McBrien, a freshman outfielder, secured three hits in five at-bats. He also stole one base, scored one run and drove in two RBIs. He said the team is looking past the loss as they continue to fight through adversity.
“At this point, we’re all ready to go,” McBrien said. “We’re ready to move past everything that’s been going on with the cancellations and stuff like that. We just want to play. We’re not even 10 games in, we still got [37] games to go. We’ll be fine.”
The Chaparrals face their region rivals in the Oakton College Owls at 3 p.m. on March 28 in Des Plaines, Ill.