Contact: Andrew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
(written by Elliott Carr, Sports Information Graduate Assistant)

May 10, 2017 – The North Central College baseball team will look to continue the dominant form that produced wins in their previous six games en-route to capturing the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season championship for the third consecutive year, when they host Augustana College, Illinois Wesleyan University and Wheaton College for the CCIW Tournament from May 11-13 at Zimmerman Stadium.

The first-seeded Cardinals open play on Thursday, May 11 at 12:00 p.m. when they host the fourth-seeded Titans from Illinois Wesleyan, and head coach Ed Mathey will be relying on the team's veterans to continue delivering, as well as continued strong performances from the pitching staff and defense.

"Our veteran leadership stood up and kept working and believing, they didn't panic," Mathey proclaimed. "Our pitching down the stretch turned a corner from the perspective of competing in the strike zone, and our defense also turned a corner in terms of making plays, especially after the back-to-back six error games. They kept it simple and made plays."

Mathey is confident North Central will continue to remain a dangerous ball club offensively, but stressed that strike zone discipline will be a key to victory in the Cardinals opening game.

One of the reasons the Cardinals have been so dangerous offensively has been sophomore Michael Mateja, as his .406 batting average is second overall in the CCIW, as are his 46 runs scored on the season. His 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts are also second in the conference, reaching base in 31-straight games dating back to Mar. 20, proving he is indeed a handful for defenses to contain.

Senior Nick Sotiros also ranks second in the CCIW for runs batted in with 42, as he has also played a significant role in the Cardinal's CCIW regular-season championship and will be counted on to continue firing throughout the tournament.

On the mound, expect to see junior Russell Hoh, whose five wins leads the team, along with senior Evan Blunk, who currently has an earned run average of 3.92, leading the Cardinals in that category. Sophomore Austin Polezoes will also be called upon, as his opposing batting average of .241 is a team-low.

While not looking beyond the Cardinals opening contest against Illinois Wesleyan, Mathey is also aware of what it will take to make a deep run and emerge from the tournament as victors.

"It's going to be a great matchup on the other side, Wheaton and Augustana in my opinion have the two strongest starting pitching staffs going, so how quickly we can make those guys work and get to their bullpen will be a benefit for us" articulated Mathey.

Along with the resiliency of the Cardinals on the field, Mathey was also appreciative of the level of fan support the Cardinals have received throughout the season.

"We had a great crowd out against Wheaton this past Monday, as both Wheaton and North Central fans showed up, and hopefully because they're familiar with the venue they'll all be back," said Mathey. "Come on down, be loud and support the Cards."

A full schedule of the tournament and more information can be found here.