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

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Mar. 27, 2010 - Spotless defense and pinpoint pitching continued to be the order of the day for the North Central College baseball team on Saturday, as the Cardinals notched a pair of shutout victories over the Carroll University (Wis.) Pioneers, 8-0 and 5-0, at Zimmerman Stadium.

The Cardinals, now 9-1 on the season, did not commit an error in either game and yielded just eight hits in 14 innings, lowering their College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin-leading team earned-run average to a paltry 1.87.

Saturday's first game was scoreless until the third inning. Andrew Wulbecker singled and Peter Romanello walked to start North Central's first sustained rally, and Nick Robinson delivered a double to right center to bring home the first run of the afternoon. Matt Abraham followed with a two-run single as the hosts pulled ahead, 3-0.

The Cardinals doubled their advantage in the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Dan Scott drove in two runs with a base hit, and Abraham later scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Brennan Hagensee walked and stole second base before scoring on a single by Wulbecker. Hagensee added an RBI single of his own in the sixth, driving in Scott.

Robinson went 3 for 4 in the opener, scoring twice. Mike Kloss pitched all seven innings and spun a three-hit gem, striking out seven and walking one.

"The game plan is always to get ahead," Kloss said. "I felt like I did a good job of getting ahead of hitters. I didn't really get behind against anybody. I was able to get the pitches I wanted to for strikes, and get ground balls when I needed them.

"Our defense has been phenomenal this year, and we've been one of the best hitting teams around, which helps a lot when you're the one on the mound."

The Pioneers (2-6) threatened to get on the board early in the second game, placing runners on the corners with no outs. Starting pitcher Tyler Herman, however, was able to get a pair of ground-ball outs and a flyout to center field to get out of the jam. North Central seized the opportunity and took the early lead with a first-inning run, as Robinson singled and later scored on a groundout by Abraham.

The Cardinals broke the nightcap open with a three-run second inning, scoring on a single by Matt Burke and sacrifice flies by Wulbecker and Robinson. Carroll's Matt Francois led off the fifth inning with a triple, but was stranded as Herman set down the next three batters to preserve the shutout. North Central's final run of the day came on a sacrifice fly by Wulbecker in the sixth.

Hagensee went 2 for 3 with two runs scored in the second game. Herman scattered five hits and struck out two while issuing no walks in recording the complete-game shutout. Herman needed just 81 pitches, 62 of which went for strikes, and set down the side in the sixth on just four pitches.

"The important thing, like Mike showed in the first game, is to get ahead early," Herman said. "Dan Scott made a huge diving catch in the sixth to close the inning out. You can't help but be confident in your pitching when you have that kind of defense behind you."

The Cardinals host the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Sunday in a non-conference double header. Action is scheduled to get under way at noon.