Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 6, 2023) - In a pair of games which took on distinctly different identities, the North Central College baseball team earned a split in Saturday's double header at Illinois Wesleyan University as both teams concluded the regular season at Jack Horenberger Field.
The Titans (18-21, 9-9 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) prevailed in a 1-0 shutout in the opener before North Central turned the tables with an eight-run rally which secured a 12-8 victory in the nightcap.
The game's lone run came in the third inning, as IWU's Trey Figus drew a walk and advanced on two wild pitches before scoring on Travis Bleker's base hit to center field.
Luke Lamm was assigned the loss on the pitcher's mound (4-6) despite scattering six hits and two walks in seven innings while striking out eight.
The hosts scored twice in the first inning of the second game, though the Cardinals (25-12, 12-6 CCIW) responded with a four-run second inning to pull in front.
Dom Listi led off with a double, then scored on
Jared Wojcik's triple to center field. The next batter was
Danny Nuccio, who took a 2-1 pitch over the center field fence for a two-run home run.
Luke Lehnen followed with a single and a stolen base before scoring on
John Michael Scumaci's base hit, giving the guests a 4-2 lead.
The Titans erupted for six runs on six hits in the fourth inning to take an 8-4 lead. North Central staged a two-out rally to get two runs back in the fifth, as Listi drove a single to left field before
Dave Fitzpatrick launched a two-run homer to left field, closing the gap to 8-6.
The Cardinals scored on
Rob Marinec's RBI single in the sixth, then took the lead for good in the eighth as Marinec tripled to right center to score Scumaci. Marinec then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by
Justin Rios.
North Central tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth. Wojcik singled and Nuccio walked before
John Petty's run-scoring single. Scumaci came through with a sacrifice fly and Marinec singled to drive in his team-high third run of the game.
Marinec went 3 for 6 at the plate, while Wojcik stole two bases and was hit twice by pitches in a 2 for 3 effort. Rios pitched the final 5-1/3 innings of the game to record the win (1-0), allowing no runs and just two hits, while striking out four and walking one.
The teams will meet again in the first round of the CCIW Tournament, which begins Wednesday at Augustana College's Swanson Stadium.
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