Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
ELMHURST, Ill. (May 4, 2024) - Scoring 26 runs on the day, the North Central College baseball team finished off the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Elmhurst University with 8-5 and 18-3 victories on Saturday at Butterfield Park.
Following a scoreless top half of the first from the Cardinals, the Bluejays scored two runs on a single and two walks. In the fourth, Jack Oberli launched a home run to bring North Central within one, 2-1.
Elmhurst tacked on two additional runs, taking advantage of three walks, a hit by pitch and a single, taking a 4-1 lead.
Jackson Bland reached on a Bluejay error to begin the eighth before Try Roach belted a home run over the left field fence to put North Central back within a run, 4-3. Elmhurst used a sacrifice fly to take a 5-4 advantage.
In the top of the ninth inning, Frankie Vallie reached on a hit by pitch and moved up to second base on a balk. John Michael Scumaci delivered a clutch RBI single to left field. Tying the game at 5-5, Oberli singled to plate Scumaci. After an Elmhurst pitching change, Roache greeted the new hurler with an RBI single to right field, putting the Cardinals on top, 6-5. Adding two insurance runs, Taylor Kujak hit a two-run double to left field.
Lehnen came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth, recording two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning to secure North Central's 8-5 victory, earning his sixth save of the season.
Oberli tallied three hits, two runs, and two RBI while Roach drove in three runs and scored twice on his two hits. Anthony Raineri earned his third win of the season by throwing 0.2 innings. AJ Kutcher, the Cardinal starter, struck out five in his five innings pitched, allowing four runs on three hits.
The Cardinal bats stayed hot in game two as Lehnen and Scumaci reached base to begin the game. After Bland moved them up a base on a sacrifice bunt, Oberli hit a two-run double to put North Central ahead, 2-0.
The Cardinals broke open the game in the second as Kujak led off with a solo home run. A Lehnen single plated Dave Fitzpatrick before Scumaci scored both Joe Hamilton and Lehnen on a single, forcing a Bluejay pitching change. Already up 6-0, Roach drove in Bland and Scumaci on a single to center field. With Roach and Oberli on base, Kujak belted his second home run of the inning, putting the Cardinals up 11-0 after two innings.
The Bluejays added two runs in the bottom of the second inning. In the third inning, Bland hit his second collegiate home run, scoring Scumaci in the process as North Central led 13-2 after three innings.
Lehnen hit an infield single to begin the sixth inning. After Bland hit an RBI single to right field, Saul drew a bases-loaded walk, putting the Cardinal up 15-3. Michael Davis, Zach Carpita, and Caleb Coberley also drew bases-loaded walks as North Central took an 18-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Ryan Gerdes kept the Bluejays off the board in the seventh to lock up the 18-3 victory for North Central. Brian Duvall earned the win, throwing five innings and allowing three runs (two earned).
Lehnen led all batters with four hits while scoring three runs. Bland posted three hits, three runs, and three RBI. He extended his on base streak to 29 games with a hit by pitch in game one and the three hits in game two. In total, the Cardinals tallied 17 hits in the second game.
North Central has secured the No. 4 seed in the upcoming College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Tournament which begins on Wednesday. The Cardinals will face the 5-seed Augustana College in the first game of the event. North Park University will host the four-day event by claiming the CCIW Title.
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