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

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

Mar. 26, 2016 – Continuing their torrid start to the season, the North Central College baseball team swept a pair of contests by 6-1 and 10-1 scores Saturday afternoon at Zimmerman Stadium, improving to 11-0 this season.
 
Game one was a pitcher's dual through six innings as North Central's Bryan Polowy and Wisconsin Lutheran's Connor Rosin, until the Warriors (4-7) put together two straight hits after a hit by pitch to plate the game's first run and take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Cardinals (11-0) responded right back in the bottom half of the seventh to the tune of five runs as Dan Sotiros led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a Sing Fong bunt single.  Matt Sutherland followed with a pinch-hit single, scoring Sotiros and tying the score at one.
 
After a Jeremy Quade single loaded the bases, Fong came around to score on a wild pitch while Bobby Smith plated Mike Noesen with a RBI double to left center.  Chris Hill followed with a two-RBI single to right, scoring Smith and Quade to give North Central a 5-1 lead.
 
Polowy was pulled after seven innings, earning the win and improving to 3-0 on the season, allowing just the one earned run while striking out eight and walking just two.  Jordan Van Dyck increased his scoreless streak to 14 innings on the season after a pair of shutout innings to close out the came, allowing just one hit.
 
North Central added a run in the bottom of the eighth on a Kyle Piotrowski sacrifice fly, scoring Dan Sotiros.
 
Quade and Smith each led the Cardinal offense with three hits apiece, while Fong finished 2-for-4. 
 
The Cardinals scored often and early in the nightcap, jumping on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first without a hit, as Quade and David Rico each walked to lead off the inning.  The two pulled off a double steal the following pitch, while Hill drove home Quade with a sacrifice fly to center to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
 
After Michael Mateja reached on an error, advancing Rico to third, Nick Sotiros drove home Rico with a sacrifice fly to center, increasing the Cardinal lead 2-0.
 
North Central added another run in the bottom of the second and third, as Piotriowski and Fong each walked to lead off the second, while Quade drove home Piotrowski two batters later following a Austin Wheatley sacrifice bunt.
 
In the third, Nick Sotiros led off with a double to left center and came around to score on a Piotrowski sacrifice fly two batters later to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead after three innings played.
 
After the Warriors got on the board with a run in the fourth, the Cardinals scraped together a two-out run in the bottom of the fifth, as Dan Sotiros walked, proceeded to steal second and came around to score on a Piotrowski single to left center a few pitches later.
 
The flood gates opened in the seventh, as three straight Cardinal hits to lead off the inning led to a pair of runs.  Hill led off with a double to left center, while Mateja followed with a RBI single up the middle scoring Hill.  Nick Sotiros singled through the left side, while Fong drove home Mateja two batters later with a RBI groundout to third, increasing the lead to 7-1.
 
The Cardinals also plated three runs in the bottom of the eighth as Nick Sotiros drove in a run with a RBI single down the right field line, while Rico came around to score on a wild pitch and Ryan Scott drove in a run with a bases loaded walk to cap the scoring 10-1.
 
Andrew Houser earned the victory on the mound for the Cardinals, improving to 3-0, allowing just one earned run over five innings pitched, striking out six and walking none.  Russell Hoh, Nick Anderson and Evan Blunk combined for four scoreless innings to end the contest, lowering the Cardinals team ERA to 1.55 on the season.
 
Quade once again led the Cardinal offense with a 3-for-4 performance with a pair of runs scored and a RBI.  Nick Sotiros also finished 3-for-4, adding two RBI and a run scored.
 
North Central is back in action on Saturday, Apr. 4, beginning College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play at Augustana College with game one of the doubleheader slated for 1 p.m. at Swanson Stadium.  The link to live in-game statistics is available HERE.