Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (Mar. 21, 2018) - The North Central College baseball team played its second hard-fought battle with Wooster College in as many days on Wednesday, but the Cardinals were denied a second straight victory and closed out play in the Snowbird Classic with an 8-6 loss to the Scots.
The Cardinals (3-6) rallied late in the game to cut into a deficit for the second straight day but was unable to duplicate Tuesday's result, when they scored eight nine-inning runs to top Wooster, 16-11.
A three-run third inning gave the Scots control of the contest early. A run-scoring single by
Rob Marinec got North Central on the board in the fourth, and the Cardinals closed the gap to 3-2 in the sixth on an RBI groundout by
Mike Wisz. Wooster, however, strung together five straight hits in the seventh and plated four runs to extend its advantage to 7-2.
Matt Sutherland and
Michael Mateja both came through with run-scoring base hits in the seventh, and Marinec's RBI double in the eighth left the score at 7-5. A North Central fielding error in the top of the ninth inning enabled the Scots (6-3) to score an unearned run, leaving the Cardinals a three-run deficit heading into their final turn at bat.
Eric Outlaw opened the inning with a base hit, Mateja reached on a fielder's choice and
John Carmody singled to give North Central runners on first and third base with one out. Wisz drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and
Colin Weilbacher added another single before the Scots were able to secure the final out.
Weilbacher finished the game 4 for 5 at the plate, while Marinec went 3 for 5 and Sutherland (2 for 3), Wisz (2 for 4), Outlaw (2 for 5) and Mateja (2 for 5, one double) registered multiple hits as well.
The Cardinals return home to host a double header against Wisconsin Lutheran College (2-7) at Zimmerman Stadium on Saturday, with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 noon.
