Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Apr. 5, 2022) - Earning their seventh consecutive win over Illinois Wesleyan University, the North Central College baseball team scored six unanswered runs over the final five innings to win 9-3 over the Titans on Tuesday evening.
Illinois Wesleyan got on the board first by drawing four straight walks in the first inning before adding another run in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. North Central answered as they loaded the bases for Jared Wojcik who reached on a fielder's choice to plate Luke Lehnen. Justin Rios hit an RBI single through the right side, followed by Brent Swenson's single up the middle to score Wojcik and give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.
After the Titans tied the contest in the bottom half of the fourth, Paul Beverly doubled to left center, allowing Lehnen and Michael Patterson to score. Now working with the lead, Jadein Kotecki settled in and held Illinois Wesleyan scoreless for the rest of his appearance.
In the top of the sixth inning, Patterson and John Petty each drew a base on balls before Lehnen scored Patterson to increase the Cardinals' lead, 6-3.
Adding to North Central's lead, Justin Rios hit a two-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the seventh inning, pushing the lead to 8-3. Jason Shanner came in to pitch in the bottom half of the seventh and went nine-up, and nine-down while striking out four to earn his third save of the season.
Kotecki picked up the win as he threw 3.1 innings and struck out three over his 14 batters faced. Rios tallied three hits, three RBIs, and two runs on the day while Beverly drove in two.
The Cardinals return home to take on Wheaton College on Saturday afternoon for a CCIW doubleheader. Game one between the Cardinals and the Thunder is set for 1 PM at Zimmerman Stadium. Click HERE to view the full schedule and live video/stats for both games against Wheaton.
Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.
