Mike Hughes provided the heroics for the

Carthage College baseball team Tuesday.

Hughes hit a lead-off home run in the top of the eighth inning to give Carthage a 9-8 victory over Lakeland College in a nonconference game at Howards Grove.

The second game of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled after the starting time of the first game was pushed back because of rain.

Hughes helped the Red Men take a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single. The Red Men scored four more runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 advantage.

But Lakeland rallied and tied the game at 8-8 in the seventh inning. That set the stage for Hughes' homer, his second of the day. He also had a solo homer in the sixth inning.

Carthage, which is ranked second in the

"D3baseball.com'' poll, improved its overall record to 27-1.

Lakeland is 8-21.

UW-PARKSIDE: The hitting was fine but the pitching wasn't as the Rangers lost both games of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader to Lewis 12-3 and 8-6 at Oberbruner Field at

Somers.

In the first game, the Rangers had 10 hits, three by left fielder Cooper Sniatynski and two by first baseman John Hasser.

Hasser also had two RBIs. John Pulera hit a home run for Parkside (3-30 overall, 0-22 in GLVC).

But Lewis collected 15 hits and scored seven runs in the first two innings to take control.

In the second game, Parkside had 11 hits, three by second baseman Mike Fuchs.

But Lewis (18-21, 10-14) scored three runs in each of the first and second innings and stayed in front the rest of the way.

Softball

CARTHAGE: The Lady Reds' scheduled

doubleheader against North Central College at Kenosha was postponed until today because of a threat of rain.

n Kelsey Epping of Carthage College was chosen the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Player of the Week.

Epping, a sophomore pitcher from Bloomington, Ill., went 4-0 last week with a 1.30 earned run

average. She had 37 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Men's tennis

CARTHAGE: The Red Men finished their CCIW schedule with a 7-2 victory over Augustana College Sunday. The Red Men had a 4-1 record.

The Red Men have a first-round bye in the

upcoming CCIW Championships at Bloomington, Ill. The Red Men will play the winner of the

Augustana-North Central meet in the second round Friday.