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Lawrence Box Score

Carleton Box Score Game 1

Carleton Box Score Game 2

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (Mar. 6, 2016) – Outscoring their opponents 45-12 over the weekend, the North Central College baseball team began the season with a bang, cruising to a 22-8 win over Lawrence University on Mar. 5, before sweeping a doubleheader over Carleton College by scores of 11-0 and 12-4 the following afternoon.

In the season opener on Friday, North Central (3-0) jumped out to an early 8-1 lead after the first inning against Lawrence (0-1), taking advantage of two Vikings errors leading to seven unearned runs.  Jeremy Quade led off the inning and proceeded to steal second and third the following batter.  Two batters later Chris Hill drove in Quade from third while reaching on an error by the Viking third baseman.

After a Cardinal lineout, Nick Sotiros lined a two-RBI triple to the fence, scoring Hill and Bobby Smith, who reached on a walk earlier in the inning.  Dan Sotiros followed with a RBI single, scoring Nick from third to give North Central a 4-1 lead all with two out in the inning.

The Cardinals were far from finished in the bottom of the first, as David Rico stepped to the plate and drove a RBI double to the gap, scoring Dan Sotiros.  After Austin Wheatley reached on the second Viking error of the inning and Quade walked in his second at-bat of the inning, Sing Fong promptly cleared the bases with the Cardinals second triple of the inning, increasing the lead 8-1.

After Lawrence got a run back in the top of the third, the Cardinals countered with two run in the bottom half, as Fong and Smith each recorded RBI singles in the inning.

North Central put up another crooked number in the bottom of the fourth, as Rico drove in his second run of the game with a RBI single, while Fong drove in two more with a single as well to give the Cardinals a 14-2 lead.

The Cardinals really put things out of reach the two innings later, putting up another eight runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by two-RBI doubles from Nick Sotiros and John McLaughlin, while Matt Sutherland drove home a run with a double of his own, increasing the Cardinal lead 22-4.

Fong finished 3-for-4 from the plate in the opener, leading the team with six RBI, while Quade also finished 3-for-4 with two walks, scoring five times.  Nick Sotiros finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored, while Bobby Smith added a pair of hits to go along with two RBI, two runs scored and three stolen bases.

Nick Anderson earned the victory on the mound for North Central, allowing two earned runs over his five innings of work, striking out five.

In game one of the doubleheader against Carleton (0-4) the following day, Hill hit for the cycle with a triple in the first inning, solo homerun in the fourth, double in the seventh and completed the cycle with a ninth-inning single.  Meanwhile Bryan Polowy kept the Carleton offense off balance all game on the mound, tossing six, one-hit innings.

North Central opened up a 2-0 lead after the first inning, as Quade led off the game with a walk and quickly scored on a double by Fong, while Hill drove home Fong with a triple two batters later.

The Cardinals added a run in each of the third and fifth innings, as Bobby Smith scored an unearned run in the third and Hill launched his first homerun of the season in the fifth, a solo shot to give North Central a 4-0 advantage.

The flood gates opened in the top of the seventh as North Central rallied for five runs on five hits, including doubles from Smith, Hill and Nick Sotiros to put the score out of reach 9-0.

Polowy left off where he ended last season, baffling the Carleton offense all afternoon, tossing six innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit while striking out nine to earn his first victory of the season.  The Cardinal bullpen, consisting of Evan Blunk, Brett Pyburn and Austin Polezoes did not allow a hit over the final three innings, while each added a strikeout.

Hill's 4-for-5 effort led the Cardinal offense, finishing with three runs scored and two RBI, while Smith, Michael Mateja and Kyle Piotrowksi each added a pair of hits.  Nick Sotiros led the team with four RBI, while also scoring once.

Carleton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first of game two, but North Central responded right back with two run in the bottom half, as Hill launched on his second homerun of the season, a two-run bomb over the left field fence.

The Knights evened the score with another run in the top of the second, but once again North Central responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning, as Sam Siebers connected on a long, two-run homerun for his first collegiate hit, giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

After Carleton knotted the score yet again with two run in the top of the fourth, the Cardinals rallied for three in the bottom half to take the lead for good 7-4.  David Rico started the scoring, drawing a bases loaded walk, while Smith followed with a single to score a pair.

North Central put the game out of reach with three more run in the sixth, while Hill added his second homerun of the game for good measure in the eighth, this time a solo shot to left.

Once again, Hill led the Cardinal offense finishing 2-for-4 from the dish with a walk, four RBI and three runs scored.  Smith, Nick Sotiros and Dan Sotiros also added two hits apiece, while Siebers scored twice and drove in a pair.

Andrew Houser was the pitcher of record for North Central, earning the win after tossing five innings, allowing four runs, two earned, while striking out three.  Russell Hoh tossed a perfect inning out of the bullpen, while Jordan Van Dyck completed the final three innings, allowing just two hits while striking out a pair.

North Central continues play on Friday, Mar. 11, taking on Benedictine University in Terre Haute, Ind. at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Art Nehf Field with first pitch slated for 5 p.m. (ET).