Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
WESTFIELD, Ind. (Feb. 27, 2026) - Tallying 19 hits in the 2026 season opener, the North Central College baseball team scored four runs in the ninth inning to break a 9-9 tie and secure a 13-9 victory over Ripon College on Friday afternoon at Grand Park.
Luke Wallace opened the game with his first hit in a Cardinal uniform, doubling to left field. After advancing to third on a Yuhki Yamada flyout, Jackson Bland drove in the game's first run on an RBI single to left field. Bland stole second and moved to third base on a Red Hawks error, but was stranded as Ripon escaped the top of the first with no more damage.
Chris Rogers trotted out to the mound as North Central's opening day starter. A single, wild pitch and an RBI single evened the contest before Rogers settled in to get out of the first inning with a 1-1 tie.
Looking to retake the lead, Payton Diaz drew a walk to begin the second. Andre Medina singled as both runners moved up 90 feet on a Caleb Coberley groundout. Wallace loaded the bases before Yamada plated Diaz from third on an RBI single. Rogers posted a three-up, three-down second frame to keep the Cardinals in front.
After a scoreless third, Coberley and Yamada each singled to put runners on the corners. Yamada put himself in scoring position with a stolen base before Parker Wyatt scored both on a two-run double to right field, putting North Central ahead by three, 4-1.
Ripon responded, taking advantage of six walks and two Cardinal errors to score six runs in the bottom of the fourth, jumping out to a 7-4 lead. Ryan Gerdes relieved Rogers after five walks in the frame, issuing one walk before the North Central miscues.
Both sides were kept off the scoreboard in the fifth as Jonny Rossi entered on the mound for North Central. He recorded two punchouts in the bottom half of the inning.
Coberley opened the sixth with a single. He advanced on a passed ball and then to third base on a wild pitch. Yamada was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Wyatt drove in his third run of the day, plating Coberley. A triple off the bat of Bland evened the score at 7-7 as Yamada and Wyatt scored. Following a Red Hawks pitching change, Owen Ziaja put the Cardinals back in front, 8-7, on an RBI single
Rossi shut down Ripon in the bottom half of the sixth, not allowing a hit in the frame. North Central went down in order to begin the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, Ripon tied the contest on a triple and an RBI single, making the score 8-8.
With an 0-1 count to leadoff the eighth inning, Yamada drilled a home run over the left field fence to give the Cardinals a 9-8 advantage. Bland hit his second triple of the game before getting thrown out attempting to score on a fielder's choice.
A leadoff walk for RIpon in the bottom of the eighth turned into the game-tying run on an RBI single up the middle.
Ziaja began the ninth with a single up the middle to put the go-ahead run on first base. Diaz moved Ziaja to second on a sacrifice bunt. A well-placed groundout by Andre Medina pushed Ziaja to third base before Coberley hit a clutch two-out single to score Ziaja and give North Central a 10-9 advantage. Elijah Hammond posted a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to seal the victory.
Yamada led all players with four hits, four runs and four RBI. Ziaja also posted four hits with a run and RBI. Wyatt drove in four with Coberley scoring three times. Rossi threw 3.2 innings with three strikeouts, three hits and two runs allowed. Hammond gave up just one hit in his 1.1 innings of work to claim the win. Griffin Klein suffered the loss for Ripon, allowing four runs in 1.1 innings.
North Central wraps up the weekend trip to Indiana Saturday with a game against Franklin College. The Cardinals have beaten the Grizzlies each of the past two times the teams have met. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. (ET).
