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

Box Score

Mar. 27, 2013 – In a contest relocated to Zimmerman Stadium due to field conditions, the North Central College baseball team opened up the 2013 home slate a few days early with a 4-2 victory over Aurora University.
 
The Cardinal offense set the tone early, plating three first inning runs as Alex Khoury led off with a single to left before Sam Klein reached base on a bunt single.  Vito DeRango followed with an RBI double down the right field line to put the Cardinals on the board.
 
John Ciolkosz stepped to the plate and delivered a bases clearing double over the center fielder's head, giving North Central an early 3-0 lead.
 
In the top of the third, the Cardinals struck again as Ciolkosz launched his first homerun of the season over the right center field fence to increase the North Central advantage 4-0.
 
The Spartans (6-5) got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of two Cardinal errors.
 
Aurora threatened in the bottom of the eighth with the go-ahead run at-bat and just one out, Cardinal reliever Bryan Polowy would pitch his way out of his own jam forcing a strikeout followed by a groundout to end the scoring threat.
 
North Central starting pitcher Andrew Houser baffled the Spartan lineup, giving up an unearned run and just one hit over his five innings of work.  Brendan Ryan came on in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
 
At the plate, Ciolkosz led all batters going 3-for-5 with three extra base hits while driving in three runs.  Khoury and Klein also finished the afternoon with a pair of base knocks each.
 
North Central will host all three games of this weekend's series against Carthage with game one of the doubleheader beginning at 12 pm on Friday, Mar. 29.