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

Box Score

Apr. 10, 2015 – The North Central College baseball team racked up 16 hits in a 13-3 rout of Wheaton College on Friday, while starter Ben Krusen broke the program's all-time strikeout record in the process.
 
Krusen struck out nine batters to become the program's all-time leader in strikeouts (206), breaking Chris Pryzdia's previous high of 203 set from 1995-98.  Krusen earned his first victory of the season, allowing just one earned run over six innings pitched, scattering three hits and walking four.
 
North Central (14-10, 7-3 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, as Jake Rone scored in game's first run in the bottom of the first, pulling off a double steal after a Sam Carius reached on a Thunder error to extend the inning.
 
The Cardinals' kept things rolling in the bottom of the third, plating four, two-out runs in the inning as Rone drove home Sam Klein and Vito DeRango with a triple to the right-center field gap, giving the hosts a 3-0 advantage. 
 
Bobby Smith followed with a triple of the his own to the right-center gap, plating Rone, while Zach Jarosz promptly scored Smith with a bloop single down the left field line, increasing the lead 5-0.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals strung together five straight hits and a walk to lead off the inning to plate four runs and take a 9-0 lead.  Carius led off the inning with a single, while Nick Brandt, Klein and Joe Paparone followed with back-to-back-to-back doubles, as Klein's drove in a pair and Paparone's sent home one run.  After Chris Hill walked, DeRango lined a single to left center, scoring Paparone and capping the scoring in the inning.
 
After the Thunder (10-16, 5-5 CCIW) plated a run in the top of the fifth, the Cardinals' responded with four more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 13-1 lead and would clinch the 13-3 win the next half inning.
 
Klein finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the afternoon, with a pair of walks, three RBI and two runs scored.  Carius finished 2-for-4 from the dish with a walk and two runs scored, while Brandt, DeRango, Paparone and Jarosz each added two hits, a run scored and a run driven in. 
 
The two teams square off again tomorrow in Carol Stream, Ill. at Lee Pfund Stadium, with game one of the doubleheader slated for 1 p.m.  The link to live in-game statistics is available HERE.