Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Mar. 1, 2024) - The North Central College baseball team fell behind in the first inning against Spalding University and could not overcome the early deficit as the Cardinals fell 14-5 on a rainy Friday afternoon at Derby City Field.
After a scoreless top half of the first, the Golden Eagles put together three hits to push two runs across home plate. Following three straight walks, including one with the bases loaded, pitcher AJ Kutcher forced a Spalding strikeout to get the second out of the inning. The Golden Eagles were not done as they took advantage of a Cardinals' error to score seven runs in the first inning of play.
Kutcher responded and kept the Golden Eagles off of the scoreboard in the second and third innings of play. Jaedin Kotecki relieved Kutcher in the fourth and posted another scoreless inning.
In the fifth, Spalding tacked on three more runs on three hits to take a 10-0 advantage after five innings.
North Central's offense used a spark from Frankie Valli who put a pinch hit single into right field. Yuhki Yamada pinch ran for Vallie and stole second base to put himself in scoring position. After Trey Roach and John Michael Scumaci walked, Jackson Bland pushed the first Cardinals' run across on a fielder's choice.
Spalding added three more runs thanks to two hits and a couple of Cardinal miscues to take a 13-1 lead.
Caleb Coberley and Vincent Merlo singled to open the seventh inning before Kolby Fujii hit an RBI single to plate Coberley. Merlo came around to score on a Yamada ground out as Fujii scored thanks to a Roach single to right field. With the bases loaded, Bland walked to plate Roach, making the score 13-5.
The Golden Eagles scored another run in the bottom of the seventh as they secured a 14-5 victory in the first game of the Derby City Classic.
Roach scored and drove in a run while drawing two walks on the day. Fujii and Yamada each tallied an RBI and a run in the game. Bland posted two RBI's to lead the Cardinals. Kutcher suffered his second loss of the season. Ryan Gerdes finished the game on the mound for North Central and posted two scoreless innings.
North Central closes out the Derby City Classic tomorrow as they take on No. 11 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 11 a.m. (ET) in the Pointers season opener before facing No. 10 Denison University at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
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.
