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


AUBURNDALE, Fla. (Mar. 22, 2015) - The North Central College baseball team threatened to take down the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III team in the nation Sunday before dropping a 5-3 decision in 11 innings to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks at Lake Myrtle Park.

The Cardinals (6-5) negated a 3-1 deficit with two runs in the final two innings of regulation play before surrendering two runs in the 11th to the defending national champions.

North Central kept the Warhawks (4-1) off the board in the first inning despite putting two runners on base, as starting pitcher Ben Krusen recorded a strikeout to end the inning. The Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead in the second when Jake Rone singled and later scored on Bobby Smith's base hit with two outs. 

The Warhawks were held scoreless until the seventh inning, when back-to-back doubles from Mike Mierow and Dane Burman tied the score and Burman later scored on a bases-loaded hit by pitch to give Whitewater a 2-1 advantage. The Warhawks' Casey Power led off the eighth inning by getting hit by a pitch and later scored on an error to extend Whitewater's lead to 3-1.

North Central's Nick Brandt led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk and scored on a double play to narrow the gap to 3-2. In the ninth, VIto DeRango led off with a double down the left-field line before scoring on Richard Concialdi's sacrifice fly to knot the score at 3-3. The Warhawks pulled in front for good in the 11th when Nick Kuhlmann came through with an RBI triple and scored on a throwing error.

The Cardinals' Sam Klein went 3 for 5, while Rone and Concialdi each went 2 for 4. Ben Krusen pitched the first seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking two. He moved into third place on North Central's all-time strikeout list (184) while becoming the third Cardinal to pitch at least 200 career innings (203). 

North Central takes on St. Olaf College (Minnesota) in a double header on Tuesday at Chain of Lakes State Park Stadium in Winter Haven. Play is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.