FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

FRANKLIN, Ind. (Mar. 8, 2009) – The North Central College baseball team took part in two more high-scoring affairs on Sunday at Franklin College, but were able to avoid a weekend sweep by splitting the two games at McDowell Field.

The Cardinals claimed a 10-9 victory in Sunday's first game before Franklin rallied for a 15-11 win in the final chapter of a four-game set.

North Central (1-3) surged to a 7-0 lead in the first three innings of the first game on Sunday. The scoring was kicked off by Michael Corrigan, whose home run to left-center field brought home the first two runs in the first inning. Nick Robinson followed with an RBI single, a two-run double by Matt Abraham came in the second inning, and a two-run homer by Steve Hlavac accounted for the Cardinals' third-inning scoring.

The Grizzlies (5-3) rallied to score three runs in the fourth, but North Central followed with three of its own in the fifth. RBI sacrifice flies by Matt Burke and Corrigan sandwiched a run-scoring single by Abraham, and put the visitors ahead, 10-3.

Franklin narrowed the gap to 10-6 heading into the seventh and final inning, then closed to a single run in the last frame, but stranded two runners on base.

Abraham went 4 for 5 at the plate for the Cardinals. Mike Kloss pitched the first four innings and picked up the win, allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out four. Chris Toy recorded the final out to record the save.

The Cardinals also held an early lead in Sunday's second contest, scoring nine runs in the first two innings. Joe Turek hammered his third home run of the weekend in the first, sending a two-run shot over the left-field fence.

After Franklin bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the first, the Cardinals erupted for a seven-run second inning to take a commanding 9-3 lead. Joe Heller popped a solo home run to center field, which was followed by an RBI single from Abraham and a two-run double by Turek, who later scored on a fielder's choice. Dustin Gilbreth capped off the scoring with a two-run single.

The Grizzlies, however, countered with nine runs in the next four innings to vault themselves into a 12-9 advantage. Another two-run dinger by Corrigan in the sixth narrowed the gap to 12-11, but three runs in the bottom of the sixth put a halt to North Central's comeback effort.

Micah Yarbrough started the game on the mound, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in two innings. Nate Dobrez took the loss, allowing three earned runs in 1 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals are off until Mar. 21, when they open their Spring Break schedule at Emory University (Ga.)