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

Box Score

May 11, 2017 – Trailing by two with one out in the bottom of the ninth in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament opener, the North Central College baseball team rallied to load the bases before Nick Sotiros sent the Cardinals home 11-10 winners in an adventurous victory over Illinois Wesleyan University with a three-run, walkoff double to left center.

Trying to avoid a loss to begin tournament play, the Cardinals needed desperately to get something going in the bottom of the ninth, as pinch hitter Robert Zebrauskas fought off a number of tough pitches to draw a leadoff walk. 

After a strikeout, Michael Mateja lined a sharp single through the left side to put the tying run on base with one out.  Jeremy Quade then followed with a four-pitch walk, forcing the Titans to make a pitching change with Sotiros looming on deck.

Summoning Matt Banaitis out of the bullpen, Sotiros smashed a first-pitch fastball to deep left center field, easily scoring Zebrauskas and Mateja, while Quade motored around the bases to score from first, sliding home with the winning run in dramatic fashion.

North Central (22-15) trailed early on as Illinois Wesleyan opened the contest with three runs in the top of the first, sending eight batters to the plate, while Gino Cavalieri delivered the big hit, an opposite field, two-run homerun to right.

The Cardinal bats came alive in the bottom of the third to score three runs, while plating another four in the bottom of the fourth, batting around in back-to-back innings.  North Central scored all three runs in the third with two outs, as a Titan error extended the inning and the Cardinals took advantage as Sotiros, John Carmody and Sing Fong all followed with RBI-base hits to even the score 3-3.

The Cardinal bats kept rolling into the bottom of the fourth, as Matt Sutherland and Mateja each singled to start the frame.  Quade followed suit with another single to left, scoring Sutherland, while Chris Hill plated Mateja with a base knock through the right side two batters later.  Two pitches later, Carmody cleared the bases pulling a double to the left center field gap, scoring Quade and Hill while giving North Central a 7-3 advantage.

The Titans (20-19) fought back with authority however, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth, before batting around in the top of the sixth to score four more runs on four hits in the inning to regain the lead 9-8.  Illinois Wesleyan added another run in the top of the eighth before the Cardinals completed the three-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth.

North Central racked up 16 hits in the victory, as the top six batters in the lineup accounted for 14 of those hits, led by Sotiros' 3-for-6 performance with five RBI and a run scored, while Fong also added three hits to go along with a stolen base and RBI. 

Carmody finished 2-for-4 with a walk and three driven in, while Mateja was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Quade also added two hits while scoring three times and driving home one.  Hill also finished 2-for-5, adding two runs scored and a RBI.

John Clifford earned his first collegiate victory on the mound for North Central, tossing a scoreless top of the ninth, allowing one hit while striking out one.

North Central will take on the winner of Augustana College and Wheaton College on day two of the tournament tomorrow at approximately 12:30 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.