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

Box Score

May 10, 2018 – It was a back-and-forth game early in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament opener on Thursday at Zimmerman Stadium, until the North Central College baseball team exploded with a six-run eighth inning, catapulting three homeruns in the 12-6 win over North Park University.

The Cardinals struck first with a pair of first-inning runs, as Eric Outlaw and Michael Mateja each singled with one out to start the rally.  With runners on first and second, what looked to be a tailor made double play turned into a run for North Central as the subsequent throw to first was thrown away, allowing Outlaw to plate the first run of the game.  John Carmody then made the Vikings pay, shooting a RBI-single the other way, scoring Mateja to give North Central a 2-0 lead.

North Park countered with two in the top of the second on a two-RBI triple from Brad Maurer to even the score 2-2, but the Cardinals took the lead right back with a run in the bottom of the third.  Mike Wisz doubled to deep right field, advanced to third on a balk, and came home on another RBI-single off the bat of Carmody to take a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the fourth it was North Park's turn to take the lead, as a walk and base hit to start the frame came around to score on a two-out, two-RBI single off the bat of Joe Koutnik, regaining the lead 4-3.

That lead quickly dissipated in the bottom of the fifth, as Colin Weilbacher was hit by a pitch and Rob Marinec walked, setting the stage for Ryan Scott.  Just like he did in the final home game of the regular season against North Park, Scott lofted a deep fly ball to left field that just cleared the fence, his second homerun of the season to give North Central a 6-4 advantage.

After North Park pulled to within one with another run in the top of the seventh, the Cardinals put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth, sending 10 batters to the plate to put up six much needed insurance runs.

With runners on first and second with one out, Wisz singled home Outlaw, while Carmody followed with a three-run homerun to deep right-center field, his fifth of the season to increase the lead 10-5.

Following the second out of the inning, Marinec got in on the homer spree, crushing a solo shot to left-center field.  Scott then singled to left and was pinch ran for by Michael Mathey, who proceeded to steal second and sprint home on a Matt Sutherland single to center, capping the six-run frame while giving the Cardinals a 12-5 lead.

North Park was able to add a run in the top of the ninth, but Patrick Schaefer recorded the final three outs to preserve the win for Russell Hoh.  Despite not having his best stuff, Hoh battled through 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs while the offense provided enough run support to improve Hoh's record to 6-0 on the season.

Eight of the nine starters in the Cardinal lineup reached base at least twice, while all nine batters recorded a hit, as the offense racked up 18 hits on the afternoon.  Carmody finished 3-for-5 with five RBI, while Mateja was also 3-for-5 with a run scored.  Wisz was 2-for-5 with three runs scored and one driven in, while Scott was also 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.  Quade, Weilbacher and Sutherland also each recorded a pair of hits, while Marinec finished 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and one RBI.

The top four batters in the North Park lineup combined to go 9-for-16 (.563), but the bottom five combined to go just 3-for-19 (.158).

North Central advances to take on second-seeded Carthage College at approximately 12 p.m. on Friday at Zimmerman Stadium.  Additional information and the full tournament schedule is available on the tournament website HERE.