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

Augustana Box Score

Illinois Wesleyan Box Score

May 12, 2017 – The North Central College baseball team survived day two of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament after falling 4-3 in a nail biter of an opener against Augustana College, before a 2-0 shutout of Illinois Wesleyan University in the nightcap, sending the Cardinals to tomorrow's championship against Augustana.

In the double-elimination format, the Cardinals will have to defeat Augustana twice tomorrow, as the Vikings were victorious in each of their first two contests during the tournament.

The Cardinals plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first against Augustana, as Michael Mateja lined the first pitch he saw back up the middle.  A failed pick-off attempt allowed Mateja to advance to third still with no outs in the inning, while Jeremy Quade followed with a base hit to left on a full count, scoring Mateja to give North Central an early 1-0 lead.

Augustana countered with a run in the second on a RBI-single from Cayton Wallace, before another run in the third on a RBI-groundout off the bat of Mitch Ruh to take the lead 2-1.

The Vikings added another run in the top of the fifth on a Matt Loeffl sacrifice fly, forcing the Cardinals to play come from behind baseball for the second straight game.

The Cardinals did not go down without a fight however, clawing back with two runs in the bottom of the eighth as Mateja and Quade each singled to lead off the frame.  Two batters later, Chris Hill drove a single to the opposite field, scoring Mateja, while Sing Fong plated Quade with a sacrifice fly to right field a couple batters later, drawing North Central to within one, 4-3, heading to the ninth.

North Central had the tying run on first with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the contest in favor of Augustana, as starting pitcher Zach Morgenstern finished what he started, finishing with 166 total pitches, striking out 12 while allowing three runs, only two earned.

Austin Polezoes received the loss on the mound despite tossing a complete game as well, giving up four runs, all earned, on 10 hits with three strikeouts.

Mateja and Quade each finished 2-for-5 in the opener, recording four of the Cardinals seven total hits and all three runs scored, as Mateja scored twice and Quade once.  Quade also drove home a run, while also swiping a base.

North Central rebounded nicely in the second game against the Titans however behind a gutsy performance on the mound by Evan Blunk.  Blunk dazzled over his eight shutout innings, keeping the Titan batters off balance all afternoon with a steady mix of off-speed pitches, scattering just five hits while striking out five and walking none.  Blunk has allowed just two earned runs over his last five starts totaling 34 innings while issuing just two walks over that span.

After a quick first three frames to the contest, the Cardinals generated a two-out rally in the top of the fourth, as Hill advanced to second on a groundout after singling with one out in the inning.  Fong followed with an infield single to extend the inning and move Hill to third, before Ryan Scott blooped a single to left just over the third baseman's head, scoring Hill while giving North Central a 1-0 lead.

That 1-0 lead stood up until the top of the eighth when the Cardinals pushed across an insurance run as Mateja line a one-out single to center, proceeded to steal second and came around to score two batters later on a RBI-base hit off the bat of Nick Sotiros to increase the lead 2-0.

After a leadoff single by Nick Figus in the bottom of the ninth ended Blunk's day, John Bosco lined another base hit to right on the first pitch he saw from reliever Lucas Tevyaw to start a Titan rally with nobody out.

After another Cardinal pitching change, a wild pitch allowed the Titan runners to each move up a base, putting the tying run on second still with no outs, but Nick Rogalski settled down to induce a line out to first before a groundout and strikeout clinched the victory while Rogalski earned his seventh save of the season, tying the program's single-season record.  Additionally, his 11 career saves are now tied for second on the program's career list.

Mateja paced the Cardinal offense in game two, finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored and stolen base, while Hill and Fong each added a 2-for-4 performance from the plate.  Mateja has now reached base in 34 straight games dating back to Mar. 20, while recording 22 multiple hit games this season.

The Cardinals look to force a winner take all scenario tomorrow, needing a win to force a deciding game seven with the first game against Augustana slated for 12 p.m. at Zimmerman Stadium.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.