Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
AUSTIN, Texas (Mar. 10, 2026) - Wrapping up its trip to the Lone Star State, the North Central College baseball team used a six-run third inning and key baserunning to outlast Concordia University Texas, 10–8, on Tuesday night at Gardner-Boggs Field.
After a quick 1-2-3 top of the first, the Tornados opened the scoring with a single and RBI double for a 1–0 lead.
North Central broke through in the third. A Ryan Huskey walk set up the Cardinals' first run on a Caleb Smith RBI single. Luke Wallace and Yuhki Yamada reached to load the bases, and Parker Wyatt drew a walk to put North Central ahead, 2–1. After a pitching change, Jackson Bland lifted a sacrifice fly to score Wallace. Payton Diaz followed with a double to left, driving in Yamada and Wyatt, and later scored on an Andrew Medina RBI single to cap the six-run inning and make it 6–1.
Concordia Texas answered immediately, taking advantage of defensive miscues. The Tornados scored seven runs on just three hits in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead, 8–6.
The Cardinals responded in the fourth as Wallace opened the inning with a double to right. Wyatt followed with an RBI double, then stole third and scored on Bland's double to tie the game at 8–8. Jim Shortall delivered a clean bottom half to steady things.
In the sixth, Yamada manufactured a run on his own, reaching on a single before advancing on a stolen base, balk and passed ball to give the Cardinals a 9–8 lead. Elijah Hammond entered in relief and kept the Tornados scoreless for the next two innings.
Diaz walked in the seventh and moved to third on a Caleb Coberley single. Medina brought him home with an RBI groundout to extend the lead to 10–8.
Diaz then took the mound for a two-inning save, allowing just one hit and keeping Concordia Texas off the board to secure the win.
Bland, Wyatt, Diaz and Medina each drove in two runs, while Wyatt, Diaz, Wallace and Medina scored twice. Starter Chris Rogers worked 2.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Shortall earned the win with 2.2 scoreless innings, and Diaz recorded his first save of the season.
North Central returns to Illinois to begin an 11-game homestand, opening Friday with the Buona Beef–Chicagoland Marriott Naperville Invite. The Cardinals face Baldwin Wallace University at noon. Due to the weather forecast, all weekend games have been moved to Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream.
