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NPU Box Score

IWU Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 13, 2011)-- The North Central College baseball team survived a pair of elimination games on Friday at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships at Horenberger Field. The Cardinals opened the day with a 5-4 victory over North Park University before exacting revenge on Illinois Wesleyan University, downing the hosts 7-5 to advance to Saturday's championship game.

The Cardinals (22-16) face Carthage College at 12 p.m. in the CCIW Championship game. A win by North Central will force a decisive winner take all game while a victory by the Red Men would seal the conference crown for Carthage.

Against the Vikings (30-12), Michael Corrigan plated the game's winning run, drawing a bases loaded walk to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Alex Khoury led off the ninth with a single, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dan Scott. Matt Burke was intentionally walked before Matt Abraham was hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring up Corrigan.

North Park struck first after three innings of scoreless ball, plating a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. North Central surged ahead of the Vikings in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs. A fielding miscue allowed the inning to stay alive an score Burke before Nick Daniels made North Park pay for their mistake, belting a two-RBI double to left center field.

A Brennan Hagensee solo home run to left field bumped the Cardinal edge to 4-2 in the eighth inning before the Vikings knotted the score with a pair of runs in the ninth inning of play.

Koury finished two-for-four at the plate and was the only North Central player with multiple hits in the game.

Nate Arenson (5-2) went the distance for the Cardinals, allowing seven hits in nine innings of work to earn the victory while NPU's Steve Kuligowski (7-3) was saddled with the loss, allowing two earned runs and issuing six walks in eight innings of action.

In game two, the fifth time proved to be the charm as the Cardinals eliminated the Titans with a 7-5 victory after suffering defeats the past four times this season the two squads squared off.

North Central struck first, plating a pair of runs in the opening inning with RBIs from Corrigan and Hagensee. IWU responded in the bottom half of the first inning with a two-run home run by Kevin Callahan.

A Burke single through the left side scored Andrew Highland, who reached on an error in the second inning before the homestanding Titans piled on three runs in the third inning to take the 5-3 lead.

North Central would respond with a three run outburst in the sixth inning before pushing across an insurance run in the seventh inning to secure the victory and a spot in the championship game.

Daniels led off the sixth with a single up the middle, advancing to third on a Highland two-bagger before scoring on a balk. Burke singled in Highland while a Corrigan sacrifice fly brought in Scott for the frame's third run.

A Highland double in the seventh brought in Hagensee for the game's final run after Haganesee led off the inning with a double to right field.

Cardinal batters had a field day against the Wesleyan pitching staff, piling on 19 hits during the game. Abraham and Corrigan each tallied four hits in the game while Burke had three hits and a pair of RBIs.

Travis Vanderwall (4-1) earned the start and picked up the victory, tossing the first five innings and allowing five earned runs. Tyler Herman closed out the game and earned his fifth save of the season, striking out two in one inning of work. IWU's Joe Sweeney (6-4) absorbs the defeat, allowing seven runs and 14 hits in six innings of action.