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

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

WAUKESHA, Wis. (Apr. 15, 2017) – The North Central College baseball team split a pair of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) games at conference newcomer Carroll University, winning the opener 7-2 before suffering a 17-7 loss in the nightcap.
 
Behind a spectacular effort from Cardinal starter Austin Polezoes in the opener, the sophomore allowed just two earned runs over 8 1/3 innings, striking out six batter while scattering eight hits to earn the victory.
 
The Cardinal offense provided plenty of run support, jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings and led the rest of the way. 
 
In the top of the fourth, John Carmody led off the with a single to right ended up advancing to third on a Carroll throwing error following a sacrifice bunt from Colin Weilbacher.  Ryan Scott plated the game's first run the following at-bat, lofting a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Carmody.
 
The Cardinals plated another run in the top of the fifth on another sacrifice fly, this time off the bat of Chris Hill, scoring Michael Mateja who led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
 
After Carroll countered with a run in the bottom half of the fifth, North Central put up a three-spot the following half inning, as all three runs came with two outs.  After doubling to right center, Adam Nelson came around to score on a Jeremy Quade double to left center, while Mateja lined a triple to left a few pitches later to score Qaude.  A Pioneer balk allowed Mateja to trot home and cap the scoring in the inning, increasing the North Central lead 5-1.
 
Carroll cut the lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh, but North Central put the game out of reach with a run in the eighth and another in the ninth, as Hill led off the ninth with a solo shot, his second longball of the season.
 
Five Cardinals finished with multiple hits in the opener, as Hill led the charge with a 2-for-3 performance with a walk, run scored and two RBI. Quade finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, while Mateja added a pair of hits while scoring twice and driving in one.  Nelson also finished with two hits and two runs scored, while Weilbacher finished 2-for-4 as well.
 
The nightcap was one to forget for North Central, as Carroll scored in six of their seven plate appearances, racking up 16 hits en route to the 17-7 win.
 
North Central also struck first in game two, as Quade led off the game with a triple to center and came around to score on a bases loaded walk by Weilbacher to give North Central an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Pioneers responded right back with a pair in the bottom of the first on a pair of RBI singles, but North Central took the lead right back in the top of the second as Quade smacked his first homerun of the season.  Mateja reached via hit by pitch later in the inning, proceeded to steal second and came home on a RBI single off the bat of Nick Sotiros to regain the lead 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals.
 
That lead did not last long however, as things fell apart from that point on for North Central.  Carroll rallied to score two in the fourth, five in the fifth, three in the sixth and four more in the seventh to finish the contest after seven innings.
 
The three, four and five hitters combined to go 9-for-12 for the Pioneers with 10 RBI and 10 runs scored.
 
Sotiros finished game two 2-for-3 including his fourth homerun of the season in the fifth, a two-run shot, also ending with three RBI and two runs scored.  Quade was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI, while Scott also finished the nightcap 2-for-4 with a run driven in.
 
Brett Pyburn was credited with the loss, allowing five earned over four innings on eight hits, walking one and striking out one.
 
North Central returns home on Tuesday, Apr. 18, hosting Rockford University in a non-conference contest at 3 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.