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

Box Score

CAROL STREAM, Ill. (Feb. 24, 2018) – Opening the 2018 season on a chilly and rainy day, the North Central College baseball team mounted a late-inning comeback, scoring seven runs over the final two innings to take down MacMurray College, 8-5 at Wheaton College's Lee Pfund Stadium.
 
The starting pitchers dominated early as the first hit of the contest came in the bottom of the fourth inning via a one-out single off the bat of Jeremy Quade then the junior center fielder went to work on the basepaths.  Quade proceeded to steal second, advance to third on a failed pick off attempt and trot home on a passed ball, all in the matter of one at-bat to put the Cardinals on the board.
 
Cardinal starter Russell Hoh held the Highlanders (1-3) hitless over the first five innings before being shut down, striking out three and walking one.
 
After Hoh's exit from the game, things took a turn for the worse for North Central as MacMurray took advantage of a pair of Cardinal errors while drawing four walks in the inning to plate three runs, still without a hit in the contest.
 
MacMurray finally broke the no-hit bid in the top of the seventh and turned those two hits into two runs to open up a 5-1 advantage.
 
The North Central (1-0) offense finally heat up in the bottom of the seventh as MacMurray pulled starter Cory Steinhart after six innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven Cardinal batters, as Mike Wisz led off the frame with a single to right field. 
 
Two batters later, Foster Heise was hit by a pitch before Rob Marinec crushed a three-run bomb through the teeth of the wind over the left field fence for his first collegiate homer, promptly cutting the Highlander lead 5-4.
 
That momentum carried into the bottom of the eighth after Patrick Schaefer pitched a perfect 1-2-3 top of the frame, as Eric Outlaw jumpstarted the rally with a bunt single to leadoff the inning.
 
Outlaw proceeded to advance to second on a wild pitch and stole third, while Wisz reached via fielder's choice to put runners on first and third with one out.  Collin Weilbacher stepped to the plate and pulled a single through the left side, scoring Outlaw while tying the game at five.
 
Pinch hitter Ryan Scott followed with a double to deep left center, scoring Wisz and Weilbacher, while Marinec gave the Cardinals another insurance run with a RBI single up the middle scoring Scott to give North Central a 8-5 advantage.
 
Nick Rogalski came in to shut the door in the ninth to earn the save, moving within one save of tying the program's all-time record of 13.
 
Schaefer earned the victory in his first collegiate appearance, allowing two runs over 2 1/3 innings, striking out two.
 
Marinec led the Cardinal offense finishing 2-for-4 from the plate with four RBI and a run scored, while Michael Mateja finished 1-for-3 with a hit by pitch, reaching base for the 45^th straight contest dating back to last season.
 
The two teams square off again tomorrow with first pitch at Lee Pfund Stadium scheduled to 1 p.m.