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

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Apr. 1, 2017 – After a tough 2-1 loss in the opening game of the doubleheader, the North Central College baseball team rebounded to win a wild game two over North Park University on Saturday afternoon inside Zimmerman Stadium.

In a game where nothing seemed to go North Central's way, the Cardinals committed four errors in the field and numerous mishaps on the base paths, but no errors doomed larger than the two committed in the top of the third inning, leading to a pair of unearned North Park runs.

North Park's 2-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the ninth inning, as starting pitcher Brent Kessinger stifled the Cardinal batters all afternoon, blanking the Cardinals over his eight innings of work.

The offense finally came alive against Viking reliever Andrew Davis, as Michael Mateja led off the inning with a base hit, while Nick Sotiros singled two batters later to give North Central runners on first and second with just one out.

Pinch hitter Colin Weilbacher stepped to the plate and pulled a pitch down the left field line for a double, scoring Mateja, but in the process of heading to third, a slight hesitation by Sotiros cost him a step and was thrown out by the Viking left fielder for the second out.  North Central was unable to score the tying run and North Park (8-11, 1-2 CCIW) held on to the 2-1 win.

Mateja and Sotiros each finished 2-for-4 from the plate, while Robert Zebrauskas added a pair of hits as well, while Weilbacher drove in the lone Cardinal run.

On the mound, Brett Pyburn received the loss despite not allowing an earned run, scattering five hits over his seven innings, striking out three but was plagued by the Cardinal defense.

Game two was all North Central early, as Mateja walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth and advanced to third on a double off the bat of Sotiros.  Chris Hill promptly lined a double to right center field, scoring Mateja while putting the Cardinals on the board. John Carmody followed suit with a single to right on a 0-2 pitch, scoring Sotiros and increasing the Cardinal lead 2-0.

The scoring barrage continued in the bottom half of the fifth for North Central, as Jeremy Quade walked and Mateja was hit by a pitch to start the inning.  Sotiros lined a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw, scoring Quade, while Hill quickly cleared the bases with his first homerun of the season, a three-run shot over the left field fence.

The Cardinals were not finished in the inning either, as Weilbacher tripled to left field after a North Park pitching change, and came around to score on a Matt Sutherland infield single the following batter, increasing the Cardinal lead 7-0.

That lead did not last long however, as North Park rallied for eight runs in the top of the sixth, connecting on seven hits while taking advantage of a Cardinal error, facing four North Central pitchers in the inning to quickly turn the tables and take a one-run lead.

To North Central's credit, they did not back down after a seemingly endless top of the sixth, rallying to regain the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Weilbacher came through yet again, this time with a two-run, two-out double to left center, scoring Carmody and Hill while giving the Cardinals a 9-8 advantage.

Carrying that momentum into the following inning, North Central gave themselves a little breathing room with three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a two-RBI double from Mateja and a RBI base hit from Sotiros to open the lead back up to 12-8.

Nick Rogalski provided the Cardinals with some much needed relief, finishing the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits while striking out one to earn the victory on the mound.

Mateja reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances in game two, finishing 1-for-1 with three walks and a hit by pitch, while also scoring three runs and driving in two.  Sotiros finished 3-for-5 from the plate, driving in a pair and scoring twice, while Carmody also finished 3-for-5 with a RBI and run scored. 

Hill added a 2-for-5 performance from the dish, driving in a team-high four runs, while Weilbacher was 2-for-4 with a pair of extra base hits and two RBI.

North Central (5-7, 3-1 CCIW) wraps up a five-game home stand on Tuesday, Apr. 4, playing host to non-conference foe Wabash College with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.