Caleb Coberley celebrates a grand slam with teammate Jackson Bland
Mark Black
13
North Central (Ill.) NCC 3-5
15
Winner Baldwin Wallace BALDWIN 8-2
North Central (Ill.) NCC
3-5
13
Final
15
Baldwin Wallace BALDWIN
8-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
North Central (Ill.) NCC 1 2 0 0 4 1 0 4 1 13 14 1
Baldwin Wallace BALDWIN 6 0 0 1 1 1 2 4 X 15 11 3

W: Michael DelDuca (1-0) L: Diaz, Payton (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Coberley's Big Day Not Enough, Cardinals Lose 15-12 to BWU

Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324

CAROL STREAM, Ill. (Mar. 13, 2026) - Opening the Buona Beef–Chicagoland Marriott Naperville Invite, the North Central College baseball team mounted a pair of comebacks but fell short late, dropping a 15-13 nonconference decision to Baldwin Wallace University on a windy Friday at Lee Pfund Stadium.

Playing as the visitors, leadoff batter Luke Wallace doubled to left field. Yuhki Yamada put runners on the corners before a sacrifice fly from Parker Wyatt gave North Central a 1-0 lead.

The Yellow Jackets answered in the bottom of the first. A hit-by-pitch, single and walk loaded the bases, and another walk tied the game at 1-1. An RBI single and sacrifice fly put Baldwin Wallace ahead, 3-1, with one out. A wild pitch, triple and RBI groundout capped the six-run inning.

North Central battled back as Caleb Coberley opened his standout day with a single up the middle. Jacob Hoernschmeyer doubled to center to put runners on the corners, and a productive RBI groundout from Caleb Smith added a run. Wallace scored on a Yellow Jacket error to bring the Cardinals within 6-3.

Starter Johnny Rossi settled in, holding Baldwin Wallace scoreless in the second and third innings. Dennis Titlinger-Nirider led off the fourth with a home run to extend the lead to four.
The Cardinals sparked a two-out rally in the fifth as Wyatt singled before Jackson Bland and Payton Diaz walked to load the bases. Coberley blasted a grand slam to right to even the game at 7-7.

After Baldwin Wallace regained the lead on a sacrifice fly, Wallace singled in the sixth and scored on a Wyatt RBI double to tie the game at 8-8.

The Yellow Jackets broke the tie in the bottom half, taking advantage of a North Central error to push across a run. They added two more in the seventh on three hits to go up 11-8.

North Central's offense answered again. Smith walked to start the eighth and moved to second when Wallace was hit by a pitch. Yamada advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. A Wyatt walk loaded the bases for Bland, whose RBI groundout scored Smith. Diaz tied the game at 11-11 with a two-run double to center, and Coberley followed with a double down the line to plate Diaz and give the Cardinals a 12-11 lead.

Two walks and an RBI single tied the game at 12-12 in the bottom of the eighth before a passed ball put Baldwin Wallace ahead for good. The Yellow Jackets added two more runs in the inning. North Central could not answer despite a Yamada triple, as Baldwin Wallace held on for the 15-13 win.

Coberley drove in five runs and scored twice on three hits, including his grand slam. Wallace went 4-for-5 with four runs. Wyatt scored twice and drove in two. Rossi threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs with five walks and five strikeouts. Diaz took the loss, giving up four runs in one inning.

North Central faces No. 17 Adrian College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream. The Bulldogs edged the Cardinals, 3-2, last season in Michigan.
Print Friendly Version