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

Box Score

MOLINE, Ill. (May 12, 2016) – The North Central College baseball team used a seven run sixth inning to power past Illinois Wesleyan University, 13-5 in the opening game of the 2016 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament on Thursday afternoon, hosted by Augustana College at Swanson Stadium.
 
With the win, North Central improves to 30-8 overall this season, the fifth 30-win season in program history.
 
Illinois Wesleyan (22-18) jumped out to a 3-1 lead after three innings, but North Central plated a run in the bottom of the fourth on a David Rico RBI single to center field, scoring Michael Mateja while trimming the Titan lead 3-2.
 
North Central continued the scoring in the bottom of the fifth, as Bobby Smith and Chris Hill each recorded RBI groundouts, while the Cardinals took advantage of a Titan error to take a 4-3 lead.
 
The Cardinal offense busted the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth, as Rico led off the inning with a single to right, while Dan Sotiros s hit by a pitch and Matt Sutherland followed with a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. 
 
Jeremy Quade stepped to the plate and promptly lined a single through the left side, scoring Rico and giving North Central a 5-3 advantage.  Dan Sotiros scored on another Titan error the following batter, while Smith was hit by a pitch with the bases still juiced, scoring Sutherland.  After the second Titan pitching change of the inning, Hill lined a two-RBI through the left side, scoring Qaude and Sing Fong.
 
Still with no outs in the inning, Mateja singled to center to once again load the bases, and following yet another Illinois Wesleyan pitching change, Nick Sotiros reached on the Titans second error of the inning, while Hill and Smith each scored on the play to increase the Cardinal lead 11-5.
 
Nick Sotiros added to the Cardinal lead with a two-run homerun over the right center field fence in the bottom of the eighth, sealing the 13-5 win.
 
Mateja finished a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI from the plate to lead the Cardinal offense, while Quade finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI.  Rico also finished 2-for-5 with a walk and a run scored, while Hill led the way with three RBI.
 
Nick Rogalski earned the win on the mound, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Jordan Van Dyck who received a no decision after allowing five runs, three earned, on 11 hits over his 5 2/3 innings.
 
North Central advances to take on host Augustana tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., as the Vikings shut out Carthage College, 3-0 in game two today.  The link to live in-game statistics is available HERE.