Contact: Adam Poklop, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
Carthage Box Score
Wheaton Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 3, 2019) – Competing in their seventh consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament, the North Central College softball team suffered an early exit with a 6-1 loss to Carthage College followed by 5-0 defeat at the hands of Wheaton College Friday.
The Cardinals were held to just two hits in their matchup with Carthage and didn't do themselves any favors in the field, allowing four unearned runs.
With nothing going for either team in the game's first three innings,
Taylor Clugston led off the fourth with a bunt-single, quickly moving up to third courtesy of a wild pitch and stolen base. Although the Cardinals added a baserunner when
Samantha Gadomski was hit by a pitch, they couldn't find away to advance Clugston another 60 feet.
The Lady Reds broke the game open in the fifth, which saw them bat around on the way to six runs off five hits and two errors. With two runs already in, Donna Stevens hit a bases-clearing double, before scoring when Naomi Alonzo followed with a double of her own.
Carthage bailed out North Central in the sixth by committing a pair of errors that allowed Clugston to score to get the Cardinals on the board, but couldn't add any more runs.
Emily Miller drew a two-out walk in the seventh, but that would be their only baserunner as the five-run deficit proved insurmountable.
North Central found both of their hits in Clugston, who finished two-for-three with a run.
Breanna Adams took the loss for the Cardinals in the circle, wrapping up the season with a 9-7 record. The freshman struck out one without allowing any walks in six innings.
Stefanie Guercio (17-4) earned the win, striking out eight over seven innings of work.
On the other side, Illinois Wesleyan defeated Wheaton 2-0, making for a seemingly favorable matchup. During the regular season, the Cardinals swept Wheaton with 13-4 and 4-2 victories, but that proved to not be a good indicator of how they would fare Friday.
The Cardinals offense came to life in the first inning, matching their hit total from the first game.
Molly Cann cranked a one-out double into center field, followed by an infield hit by Clugston, but neither could make it any further.
Wheaton took a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Hannah Clark led off with a triple into the gap in right center field and was able to score off a sacrifice fly.The Thunder added to their lead in the fourth, thanks to a two-RBI single from Ali Kent and an RBI-double from Sophie Ken that made it a 3-0 game. Two North Central throwing errors the following inning helped cushion Wheaton's lead, who now led 5-0.
In the top of the sixth, Cann and
Rachele Belletini hit back-to-back singles and advanced to third and second with two outs, but once again were stranded.
Adams hit a one-out single to give the Cardinals a baserunner in their final at-bats, but Wheaton turned a double play to end the game.
Cann finished the game a perfect three-for-three and was the only Cardinal to record multiple hits.
Gianna Corban (12-7) took the loss, striking out two and walking two while allowing three earned runs in six innings.
North Central (26-14, 10-8) closes the book on their 2019 campaign, which began saw the Cardinals win 12-straight to open the season, establishing the program's best start to the season since 2013. Although the team loses a pair of four-year starters in Clugston and Belletini, they added some solid young talent to the mix this year.
