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

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. (Apr. 13, 2019) – Scoring double digit runs in each game of the doubleheader while recording 34 total hits, the North Central College baseball team exploded with a 11-7 and 12-6 doubleheader sweep of Elmhurst College on Saturday to open the three-game College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) series.

North Central jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after three innings in the opener, while starter Austin Polezoes did not allow a hit over the first three frames.  In the top of the first, Rob Marinec tripled off the center field fence, scoring Jeremy Quade, while John Carmody plated Marinec with a base hit to center to give the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead.

Adding another run in the top of the third, Colin Weilbacher drove in Marinec with a single through the right side after Marinec singled to lead off the inning.

The Bluejays eventually got to Polezoes in the bottom of the fourth, as consecutive singles put runners on first and third with one away for Jordan Scrimpsher, who promptly tied the game with a three-run homerun to left center.

The Cardinals regained the lead right back in the top of the fifth on an infield single off the bat of Weilbacher, before Ryan Scott increased the lead 5-3 with solo homerun to lead off the sixth.

Once again for North Central, that lead was quickly eliminated in the  bottom half of the sixth as three hits and a Cardinal error allowed two runs to cross the plate, tying the game at five.

Following a scoreless top of the seventh for North Central, Elmhurst took its first lead of the game as Scrimpsher tallied his second homerun of the contest, a two-run shot to nearly the same spot in left center.

That lead was also short lived for the Bluejays, as Marinec stepped to the dish with two outs and runner on first in the top of the eigth.  Homering in four-straight games heading into the day, Marinec did the improbable, extending the streak with a  two-run opposite field homerun to right center, knotting the score 7-7 in the process.

The Cardinals were not finished in the eighth either, sending six more batters to the plate following Marinec's homerun.  After Carmody walked, Elmhurst pitcher Alec Berry suddenly lost all control, hitting four batters in a row to hand North Central two more runs and a 9-7 lead.

The third North Central homerun of the game padded the lead in the top of the ninth, as Carmody launched his CCIW-leading seventh long ball of the season, a mammoth two-run shot to right center to cap the scoring 11-7.

Racking up 18 hits in the opener, the top-five batters in the lineup recorded multiple hits led by Marinec's  4-for-6 showing with three runs scored and three RBI.  Weilbacher finished 3-for-4 with a walk, hit by pitch and two RBI, while Matt Sutherland was 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored.  Carmody drove in three on a pair of hits, while Quade also added a couple of hits and runs scored.

Justin Rios received the win on the mound, tossing the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing no runs on just two hits.

The offense picked up right where it left off in game two, plating seven runs over the first four innings to jump out to a 7-2 lead, including a four-run second inning in which the Cardinals sent nine batters to the plate.  With the bases loaded full of Cardinals and nobody out in the inning, Jared Wojcik plated the first runs of the nightcap with a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring Carmody and Weilbacher.

Three batters later and the bases loaded yet again, Sutherland drew a walk to push across another run, while Quade plated the fourth run of the inning with a RBI-fielders choice.

Elmhurst got on the board with a run in the bottom half of the second, but North Central countered with a two-spot in the third, scoring the first run on a RBI-double from Joe Rizzo, while a Bluejay error led to the second run of the inning with two outs.

Carmody and Rizzo each drove in a run in the fourth and sixth, respectively, to extend the Cardinal lead 8-2, but the Bluejays cut into the lead with a four-run bottom half of the sixth, taking advantage of starter Charlie Klemm exiting the contest.  Elmhurst scored all four runs on reliever Nick Rogalski before recording an out, but Tyler Jones provided some much needed relief, inducing a pair of groundouts and a flyout to get the Cardinals out of the inning still holding a two-run lead.

Jones kept the Bluejays in check the remainder of the contest, allowing zero runs on only two hits over his four innings with two strikeouts, recording his second save of the season.  Klemm improved to 4-0 on the season, allowing two runs on seven hits over his five innings of work, striking out eight and walking none.

The offense added some breathing room with two runs in each of the seventh and ninth innings, tallying 16 more hits in game two as Rizzo led all batters finishing 5-for-6 with three RBI and two runs scored.  Marinec was finally held without a homerun in the nightcap, but still finished 2-for-6 with a RBI, while Carmody also added a pair of hits and two runs scored.  Wojcik and Michael Stoltz each added two hits and a walk in the eight and nine spots in the lineup, while Wojcik also scored twice and drove in two.

Due to inclement weather in the forecast, the series finale originally scheduled for Sunday has been moved to Monday, Apr. 15, as North Central goes for the series sweep at Zimmerman Stadium with first pitch at 3 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.