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

Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Mar. 20, 2012) - A back-and-forth contest spilled over into an extra inning of play Tuesday at Armstrong Field, as the North Central College baseball team emerged late to take the lead before the Methodist University Monarchs rallied and slipped past the Cardinals, 9-8.

North Central (6-4) bounced back twice from early deficits, including a five-run seventh inning that gave the Cardinals their only lead at 8-6. After tying the score at 8-8 in the bottom of the ninth, the Monarchs turned a leadoff walk into the game-winning run in the 10th.

Methodist took advantage of an error and scored an unearned run in the first inning, then tacked on two more runs in the second to pull ahead, 3-0. The Cardinals responded with two runs in the third, getting bases-loaded singles from Joe Paparone and Joe Turek. North Central tied the game in the fourth, as Luke Waldier singled and stole second base before scoring on a base hit by Tom Ross.

The Monarchs (14-12) pulled back in front with a run in the fifth, then benefited from an error and a pair of wild pitches to score twice in the sixth. North Central started its seventh-inning rally with a leadoff double by Kevin Hennessy, and Frank Sutphin followed with an RBI triple to open the scoring. Nick Daniels next drew a walk and Steve Hlavac came through with a run-scoring single, and both players later scored on an error. Zac Pacanowski capped the rally with an RBI single.

The hosts collected three singles and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, scoring the game-tying run with two outs. The Monarchs scored the game-winner with no ous in the 10th on a single to center field.

Ross and Hlavac each went 3 for 6 at the plate for North Central, while Alex Khoury was 2 for 5 and Hennessy went 2 for 6. 

North Central concludes its Spring Break schedule on Wednesday at Greensboro College, with play scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time.