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

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Apr. 2, 2013 – The North Central College baseball team salvaged a series split against College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Augustana College, falling in the opener 11-3, before bouncing back to hang on and win game two 8-7.
 
In game one, the Vikings (14-4, 2-2 CCIW) put up five runs in the first two innings and would not surrender the lead the remainder of the contest.
 
The Cardinals (10-8, 3-2 CCIW) got on the board in the bottom half of the third as Zac Pacanowksi lined a single through the right side, and Alex Khoury would follow with an RBI-triple.
 
Augustana would add at least one run over four of the final six inning en route to the nine-run victory.
 
Khoury and Sam Klein each finished game one with a hit and a RBI a piece.  Andrew Houser was credited with the loss on the mound for the Cardinals, giving up four earned runs over 3 2/3 innings while striking out three.
 
In the nightcap, the Cardinals jumped out to an early 4-0 first inning lead as Nick Daniels cranked a grand slam over the left field fence, his first homerun of the season.
 
Two innings later, John Ciolkosz would send a solo shot over the left center field fence, his third long ball of the year to increase the host advantage 5-0.
 
In the bottom of the fifth the Cardinals increased its lead 6-0 as John Ciolkosz shot his first triple of the season to right center and would score later in the inning on a wild pitch.
 
The Vikings would counter with two runs in the top of the sixth on a pair of hits while taking advantage of a Cardinal error.
 
North Central would respond with a run in each of the next three innings to increase its lead to 8-3 after seven innings played.
 
The Augustana bats came alive in the top of the eighth scoring four runs on four hits before Brendan Ryan came in with two out and the Vikings threatening, striking out David Balzer to preserve a one-run lead for the Cardinals.
 
After the Cardinals were held scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, Ryan came on in the bottom of the ninth to record his third save of the season.
 
Connor Brown was credited with the win for North Central, tossing six innings while giving up two earned runs with five strikeouts.
 
North Central travels to Illinois Wesleyan University on Apr. 6 with game one of the twin bill scheduled for 12 p.m.