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

Box Score

LA CROSSE, Wis. (May 20, 2016) – The North Central College baseball team saw their historic season come to an end on Friday at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship, falling 8-2 to Saint John's University (Minnesota), finishing the season with an overall record of 31-12.

North Central jumped out to a 2-0 lead after three innings, as Jeremy Quade led off the game with a single up the middle and came around to score on a Bobby Smith double to deep right center field.

In the top of the third, Quade once again got the Cardinal rally started, this time walking to lead off the inning. Sing Fong followed with a walk, while the two proceeded to pull off a double steal two batters later.  With two outs and runners at second and third, Michael Mateja lined a single to left, scoring Quade while increasing the Cardinal lead 2-0.

That was all the scoring the Cardinal offense would muster however, as Saint John's starter Ben Etzell held North Central to just five hits over his final six innings. 

The Johnnies (30-13) got on the board with a run in the top of the fourth on a Logan Hershey opposite field solo homerun, cutting the Cardinal lead in half 2-1.

A three-run top of the fifth opened things up for Saint John's, as three straight hits to open the inning led to the three runs and quickly overturned the Cardinal lead 4-2.

Another Saint John's homerun in the top of the seventh, this time off the bat of Derek Schiebel, increased the Johnnie lead 6-2, while two more runs in the top of the eighth put the game out of reach for North Central.

Bryan Polowy received the loss on the mound, allowing six earned on 11 hits over his six innings, striking out seven.

Quade and Smith each finished 2-for-4 to lead the Cardinal offense, while Quade scored the lone two runs and Smith drove in one.

Eight of the nine batters in the Saint John's lineup recorded a hit, including multiple hit efforts from five, led by Max Jackson's 3-for-4 performance, with two RBI and a run scored.

The Cardinals 31 wins are the second most in program history, tying the 2010 team's mark along with each of the 1987 and 1986 teams.