FT. MYERS, FLA.  --  The Hiram College baseball team lost a pair of games in a doubleheader against Illinois College as the Terriers continue their Florida trip in Ft. Myers.

Following today's games, the Terriers are now 4-3 overall for the season.

In game one, both teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when Illinois recorded the game's first run on a RBI double to take a 1-0 advantage.  The Blueboys added a another run in the fifth to increase the margin to 2-0.  Hiram cut the deficit in half with a run in the top of the sixth on a fielding error with two runners on making the score 2-1.  The Terriers went to the plate for their final at-bats in the top of the seventh and had the tying run on base on a walk by freshman infielder Mark Leone (Boardman) with one out.  But Hiram recorded back-to-back outs to end the game, giving Illinois a 2-1 victory.

Hiram had three hits in the game with two of those hits coming off the bat of senior All-North Coast Athletic Conference infielder Torrey Stimson (Hudson/Walled Lake, Mich.) who went two-of-three overall.  Sophomore outfielder Mike Gatta (McDonald) recorded the other hit for Hiram going one-of-three with a run scored. 

On the mound, junior Mike LaLonde (Willowick/South) started his second game of the season and pitched a complete game allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and struck out seven batters.

Game two featured more offense by both teams, but Hiram trailed early as Illinois scored a pair of runs in the top of the first and then added another run in the third on a solo homerun to lead 3-0.  The Terriers answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI sacrifice fly by Stimson and a RBI single by sophomore catcher/outfielder George Blake (Parma) to narrow the gap to 3-2.  Illinois got the two runs back in the fourth to go up again by three runs, 5-2.  Hiram then tallied runs in the fourth and fifth innings to get back to within a run at 5-4.  Both teams exchanged two runs in the sixth with Hiram's runs coming on a bases loaded walk by senior catcher/infielder Randy Miller (Glenmont/West Holmes) and a RBI single by Leone setting up a seventh inning with the Terriers trailing by just a run.  The Blueboys opened the seventh with a walk and a single which later led to another run to extend the lead to 8-6.  In the bottom of the inning, Hiram got the tying run on base via a walk with one out, but the Terriers recorded the final two outs following the walk as Illinois hung on for the 8-6 win.

Hiram finished game two with 13 hits, including two players with three hits each.  Freshmen Jeff Segal (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield) and Ron DeAmicis (Austintown/Fitch) both finished three-of-four at the plate.  Segal also added a run scored and a RBI, while DeAmicis had two runs scored and a RBI.  Miller and sophomore infielder Shane Haidet (Alliance/Marlington) both had two hits with Miller adding a RBI and Haidet scoring a pair of runs.

On the mound, senior John Colla (Austintown/Ursuline) started the game and pitched five innings, but suffered the loss and is now 1-1 on the year.  He allowed seven runs on seven hits and struck out six batters.  Freshman J.T. Taylor (Niles) pitched two innings of relief allowing one run on two hits.

Hiram will play a doubleheader tomorrow (Friday, Mar. 9) against Findlandia (Mich.) University.  The first game is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in Ft. Myers.