Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (May 13, 2022) - Earning two wins to advance to Championship Saturday, the North Central College baseball team rolled past Millikin University, 13-3 before taking down North Park University, 10-9 on day three of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament.
Starter Jason Shanner kept the Big Blue bats quiet in the first two innings of play. In the third, Millikin took advantage of a Cardinal error to post two runs early in the game.
North Central responded in the bottom half of the inning as Joe Hamilton and Dom Listi each walked to set up Justin Rios who reached on an error, scoring Hamilton. Following a Trey Roach walk, Jared Wojcik hit a two-run single to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. Paul Beverly singled through the right side to score Roach before Jack Oberli hit an RBI single to extend North Central's lead to three.
Wojcik and Beverly drew leadoff walks in the bottom of the fifth inning. Michael Davis reached on an error to load the bases for Oberli. He scored Wojcik on the Cardinals' third walk of the inning. Listi and Luke Lehnen each hit RBI singles to put North Central ahead 9-2. Roach scored Listi on a sacrifice fly, followed by an RBI double off the bat of Wojcik to plate Lehnen and push the lead to nine.
After Millikin scored a run in the sixth, Roach singled to score Listi who drew a leadoff walk. Ending the game early, Beverly reached on a Millikin error to score Lehnen as the Cardinals defeated the Big Blue, 13-3 in seven innings.
Shanner improved to 4-0 on the season, allowing just four hits, three runs, and zero earned runs in his seven innings of work. Lehnen tallied three hits, two runs, and two RBIs while Wojcik drove in three runs on his two hits. All nine batters in the lineup drew a walk in the contest.
Game two saw the Cardinals offense score first as Rios scored Lehnen who tripled to take a 1-0 lead. The Vikings answered with three runs of their own in the top of the second inning.
Rios walked to open the bottom of the fourth inning, followed by three straight singles as Rios scored on a Beverly single to second base. Roach came around to score on a fielder's choice from Davis. Hamilton drove in Wojcik before Listi hit a two-run single to score Davis and Brent Swenson, giving North Central a 6-3 advantage.
Robert Deischer entered the game in the fifth inning and help the Vikings scoreless over the next two innings. North Park added an unearned run in the seventh before the Cardinals tacked on needed insurance runs.
Rios launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Lehnen. Beverly hit a sacrifice fly to plate Roach, putting the Cardinals ahead by five, 9-4. With Wojcik on third, Davis tripled down the left field line to add on another run for North Central.
The Vikings scored two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth but it wasn't enough as CJ Jensik closed the door for the save to secure North Central's 10-9 victory. Desicher moved to 4-0 this season while Jensik picked up his second save. Rios drove in three runs on his two hits to lead the Cardinals.
Advancing to the CCIW Championship for the fifth straight season, the Cardinals meet Augustana needing two wins over the Vikings to claim the tournament title. The first game is set for 11 AM at Zimmerman Stadium.
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.
