FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Drew Sauer,Graduate Assistant to Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Box Score


WHEATON, Ill. (April 27, 2012)—The North Central College baseball team was unable to battle back from an early deficit on Friday afternoon at Lee Pfund Stadium, falling to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Wheaton College, 5-4.
 
Wheaton plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning as Ryan Miller scored on a double steal.  The Thunder (19-15, 8-8 CCIW) increased its lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second when Phillip Tuttle drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to right field.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Wheaton's Justin Swider plated a run with an RBI single and John Jensen-Johnson gave the Thunder a 4-0 lead with an RBI fielder's choice.
 
The Cardinals (19-12, 9-7 CCIW) would cut the deficit in half in the top of the sixth inning when Alex Khoury scored on a throwing error and Steve Hlavac drove in the first of his three runs on the afternoon, on a sacrifice fly to center field.  Wheaton would get another run back in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-2 lead.
 
After a Sam Carius double and a Frank Sutphin walk, Steve Hlavac roped a 2-RBI double down the left field line to shrink the Thunder lead to 5-4 with nobody out.  After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt, the Thunder forced consecutive groundouts to get out of the inning and secure the victory.
 
Carius led all Cardinal batters going 2 for 4 while Hlavac finished 1 for 2 with three RBI.
 
North Central hosts Wheaton on Saturday inside Zimmerman Stadium.  Game on of the twinbill scheduled for 12 pm.