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Box Score

CAROL STREAM, Ill. (Apr. 12, 2013) – Falling behind 9-0 in the sixth inning, the North Central College baseball team was unable to mount a comeback, falling 9-5 in a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) series opener against Wheaton College.
 
The game was moved from North Central to Wheaton's Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field due to field conditions but the Cardinals remained the home team.
 
Trailing 9-0 after the top of the sixth, the Cardinals (10-12, 3-6 CCIW) got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Matt Brancato was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and would later score on a wild pitch.  Alex Khoury followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Nick Daniels who reached on a double down the left field line earlier in the inning.
 
The Cardinals got a rally started in the bottom of the ninth as Khoury led off with a single followed by a Sam Klein walk.  One batter later, Kevin Hennessy launched his second homerun of the season over the center field fence, trimming the Thunder lead 9-5 but Thunder bullpen shut the door to take game one.
 
Hennessy finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with three RBI while Khoury and Charlie Hern had two hits each.
 
Jon Rashid takes the loss for the Cardinals, giving up seven earned over 5 2/3 innings.  Evan Rahn improved to 2-4 for the Thunder (7-16, 3-6 CCIW), scattering nine hits over eight innings while giving up just two earned runs.
 
The two teams square off again tomorrow at Lee Pfund Stadium with game one of the doubleheader slated for 1 p.m.