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

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Apr. 22, 2017 – Struggling to push across runs all afternoon long, the North Central baseball team left a combined 26 runners on base over the course of the doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan University, falling by scores of 7-0 and 6-4, respectively, dropping the first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) series of the season.

North Central (14-11, 9-4 CCIW) actually out-hit the Titans by a 16-14 margin on the afternoon, but stranded 13 runners in each game as the big hit eluded the Cardinals all afternoon.

The Titans (18-11, 11-4 CCIW) plated a first-inning run off Cardinal starter Brett Pyburn, as Garrett Shea scored Jake Stewart with a single up the middle, after Stewart led off the game with a single through the right side.

Illinois Wesleyan pushed across another run in the top of the third, taking advantage of a Cardinal error to plate an unearned run and take a 2-0 lead.
That 2-0 lead would last until the top of the seventh when Nick Figus opened things up with a bases clearing double to left field after the Titans loaded the bags with just one out.

The Titans added two more insurance runs in the top of the eighth, while North Central left multiple runners on in five of the nine innings.

Matt Banaitis earned the victory on the mound for the Titans, scattering five hits over his seven innings, striking out three while walking four.

John Carmody was the lone Cardinal with multiple hits in the opener, finishing 2-for-4, while Michael Mateja finished 1-for-3 with a walk.

Game two began much the same way as the opener, as Illinois Wesleyan jumped on the board with a pair of first-inning runs on two doubles and a Cardinal error.

North Central cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the first, as Mateja drew a one-out walk and scored on a Nick Sotiros double to the left center gap.

The Titans got that run right back however in the top of the second, as Jonathan Broadbear doubled to lead off the inning and came around to score two batters later on a two-out base hit off the bat of Figus.

After another run in the top of the third increased the Titan lead 4-1, North Central had the bases loaded and no outs, but only managed to push across one run as a Matt Sutherland fielder's choice scored Carmody to trim the Illinois Wesleyan lead 4-2.

The 4-2 score held until the bottom of the eighth when Foster Heise led off the inning with a single and was pinch ran for by Mike Noesen.  Adam Nelson then singled to jumpstart the Cardinal rally, while Sutherland moved the pair up a base with a sacrifice bunt, putting runners on second and third with just one gone.

Jeremy Quade stepped to the plate and quickly plated Noesen on a RBI-groundout to the shortstop, drawing the Cardinals to within one.  With two outs and the tying run on third, Mateja grounded what should have been the final out of the inning, but the Titan shortstop watched mercilessly as the ball trickled through his legs allowing Nelson to score while tying the game 4-4 heading to the ninth.

The Cardinals seemed to have the inning under control as a pair of easy groundouts began the inning, but a two-out single, followed by walk gave the Titans another life and Mitch Pfeiffer came through in the clutch, blooping a base hit down the right field line, scoring the go ahead run in the process.  The Titans added another run on a wild pitch later in the inning, increasing their lead 6-4.

Chris Hill led off the bottom of the ninth with a double to left center and Sing Fong followed with a walk to start the inning, but as was the theme the whole day, the pair were stranded as a lineout and back-to-back strikeouts ended the contest in favor of the Titans.

Sean Coonan received the win for Illinois Wesleyan on the mound, tossing 106 pitches in relief of starter Nick Huskisson, allowing just one earned on six hits over his six innings of work.

Nick Rogalski received the loss for North Central, allowing the two ninth inning runs on two hits and two walks.

Hill finished 2-for-5 in game two to pace the Cardinal offense, while Fong was 1-for-3 with two walks and Mateja finished 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored, while increasing his reached base streak to 20 games.

North Central is back in action tomorrow with a quick turnaround against Millikin University on Senior Day with first pitch of the twin bill scheduled for 12 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.