FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Buena Vista Game 1 Box Score
Buena Vista Game 2 Box Score
UW-Platteville Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (Mar. 12, 2012) - The North Central College baseball team got strong starting pitching performances in each of its three neutral-site games at Jacksonville's Lenz Field over the weekend, helping the Cardinals nab a pair of victories and nearly pull off a third.
North Central lost a 10-inning decision, 6-4, to Buena Vista University (Iowa) on Friday before bouncing back to shut out the Beavers, 11-0, early on Saturday. The Cardinals returned to the field Saturday afternoon and topped the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 7-4.
North Central lefthander Kris Singh drew the start in the first game of the weekend and shut the Beavers out for the first three innings before a leadoff triple kicked off a three-run fourth for Buena Vista. Singh bounced back to retire seven of the final eight batters he faced and departed after six innings having struck out seven and walked four while giving up six hits.
Singh left the game with a 4-3 lead. Joe Turek singled home a run in the first after Joe Paparone and Steve Hlavac drew walks, and the Cardinals added three runs in the fifth as Hlavac drove in a run with a single, Paprone scored on a wild pitch and Turek recorded an RBI groundout.
Buena Vista (3-6) scored a two-out run in the ninth to force an extra frame, and the Beavers tacked on two runs in the 10th, again with two outs, to claim the victory.
Turek and Paparone each went 2 for 4 in the opener, while Ben Krusen was 2 for 5.
Southpaw Jon Rashid took the mound to face the Beavers on Saturday and delivered a gem, scattering just three hits while pitching eight shutout innings. After allowing a single in the first, Rashid did not give up another hit until the eighth, when Buena Vista collected two hits before the Cardinals' infield turned the second of three double plays to put an end to the threat. Rashid struck out six and walked just one.
The Cardinals took command with a six-run second inning, as the first five North Central batters reached base safely. Zac Pacanowski and Peter Romanello opend the scoring with back-to-back RBI doubles, and Alex Khoury came through with a two-run single before Paparone provided a run-scoring groundout and Kevin Hennessy ripped a two-out double for another RBI.
Hennessy doubled again to drive in another run in the fourth, as Paparone scored on a wild pitch in the same inning. Romanello plated a run with a single in the fifth and a double by Hlavac and sacrifice fly by Pacanowski each brought home runners in the sixth. Hlavac went 3 for 4 at the plate, while Hennessy and Romanello were 2 for 4 and Luke Waldier went 2 for 5.
Krusen, who started at catcher on Friday, was the Cardinals' starting pitcher against UW-Platteville. He handcuffed the Pioneers (1-4) for six shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out four and walking four.
Krusen left after the sixth with a 7-0 lead as North Central's offense struck early once again. The Cardinals hammered out seven hits in the third inning to score five runs, as Romanello, Waldier and Hennessy each had RBI doubles and Paprone and Turek contributed run-scoring singles. North Central also scored twice in the sixth on a single by Waldier and a groundout by Turek.
Khoury was a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate for the Cardinals, while Pacanowski was 2 for 2, Paparone finished 2 for 4 and Waldier was 2 for 5.
The Cardinals (4-2) open play on their Spring Break trip to North Carolina on Friday, playing the first of a three-game series against North Carolina Wesleyan College.
