The Carthage College baseball team is back in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship game.

The Red Men, behind a big-time hitting performance by Park High School graduate John Lequia, beat Illinois Wesleyan 16-11 in the semifinals of the CCIW Tournament at Carthage in Kenosha.

Carthage (31-6, 18-1 CCIW) will have to wait until today to find out its opponent in the title game. The losers' bracket game between Wheaton and Wesleyan (24-15) was suspended because of darkness in the fifth inning with Wheaton leading 5-2. The game will resume at 10 a.m. and the title game will follow.

The Red Men's game was a back-and-forth affair, but Carthage ultimately had the last laugh by scoring nine runs over the final three innings. Carthage went ahead 6-2 with a five-run fourth inning, but the Titans got within one at 6-5 in the bottom of the fourth. After the Red Men went ahead 7-5, Illinois Wesleyan scored five in the bottom of the sixth to take a 10-7 lead.

A four-run seventh, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Will Hodges (two-run) and Mark Sobol and an RBI single by Lequia tied the game at 10-10. Carthage finally put the game away with a five-run ninth on a bases-loaded walk by Tim Hansen, a two-run double by Lequia, a sacrifice fly by Mike Hughes and an RBI double by Drew Roberts.

Lequia went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Trevor Whately went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Roberts went 3-for-6 with an RBI. Three other players, including Shoreland Lutheran graduate Tyler Eickmeyer, had two RBIs.

Pitcher Eric Rohe (5-0) got the victory in relief, going the final 3ª innings and giving up three hits.

- In an elimination game earlier Friday, Wheaton beat Augustana 14-12.