Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
MARIETTA, Ohio. (Mar. 9, 2025) – The North Central College baseball team dropped a high-scoring, back and forth game against Ohio Wesleyan University who scored eight runs in the final three innings to earn an 11-8 win, closing out the Cardinals' weekend at Pioneer Park.
Brian Duvall kept the Battling Bishops off the scoreboard in the first inning, thanks to two strikeouts and a caught stealing from catcher Henry Saul. In the bottom of the second, Saul singled up the middle before AJ Kutcher tripled to right field to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Ohio Wesleyan evened the score in the third inning by taking advantage of a Cardinal error. In the bottom half of the frame, North Central retook the lead as John Michael Scumaci scored on an RBI groundout from Caleb Coberley. Kutcher's second triple of the day brought around Saul and Vincent Merlo who each reached on base hits. Scumaci plated Kutcher on an RBI groundout to put the Cardinals ahead by four, 5-1 after four innings of play.
A two-run home run from Ohio Wesleyan cut their deficit in half entering the sixth inning. In the seventh, the Battling Bishops used a walk, double and two-run single to knot the contest at 5-5.
Justin Lang led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single to left field. A Scumaci single moved Lang to third before Coberley loaded the bases on an error. Austin Wienke brought in the go-ahead run on a double play, giving the Cardinals a 6-4 edge with two innings left to go.
Ohio Wesleyan used four hits, a walk, hit by pitch and a Cardinal error to score five runs in the top of the eighth to take a 10-6 lead. North Central responded in the bottom of the eighth inning as Peyton Burgh led off with a triple before scoring on a Saul RBI double to left field.
In the ninth, the Battling Bishops tacked on another run before Coberely launched his first home run of the season over the right field fence. It wouldn't be enough as Ohio Wesleyan held on for an 11-8 win.
Scumaci and Saul each tallied three hits on the day as Kutcher drove in three runs offensively. Jackson Bland drew a walk to extend his reached base safely streak to 38 games. On the mound, Duvall earned a no-decision, throwing six innings with five strikeouts and three runs allowed. Nolan King suffered the loss, while Joe Liss earned the win for Ohio Wesleyan.
The Cardinals stay in Ohio to face Marietta College for a two-game series at Pioneer Park. First pitch for game on is set for Tuesday at 3 p.m. (ET). North Central beat the Pioneers 1-0 a season ago in Florida.
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.
