Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324. Story written by Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
CHICAGO (March 19, 2026) – The North Central baseball program traveled to Chicago this afternoon to open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play against North Park University. The Viking pitching staff ruled the day, holding the Cardinals to just four hits in a 4-1 loss for North Central.
The loss was the fourth consecutive loss for the program, and the first of five games North Central is scheduled to play over the next four days. The Cardinals will face Calvin University for a quick three-game series on Friday and Saturday and then conclude the weekend with the first contest in a home-and-home series with the Illinois Institute of Technology on Sunday.
The first of North Central's (3-8, 0-1 CCIW) four hits came on the very first batter of the ballgame. Luke Wallace laced a single into center field and advanced on a wild pitch before being moved to third on a Yuhki Yamada groundout. A pop out and a walk put runners on the corners with two outs for the Cardinals, but they were unable to convert, as North Park (9-6, 1-0) starter Jackson Nues coaxed a strikeout to escape the jam.
Nues went 6.0 +, striking out four hitters along the way. He allowed just three hits and an unearned run over his 100-pitch outing while walking six and hitting two more. He was the winning pitcher for the Vikings.
North Central threatened again in the fourth, as Caleb Coberley drew a leadoff walk, as did Jacob Hoernschemeyer behind him. After a strikeout, Owen Ziaja flew out to right, allowing Coberley to tag for third. With runners at the corners and two outs for the second time, the Cardinals were unable to convert, as Nues induced an inning-ending ground out.
In the fifth, Jackson Bland rifled a double down the right field line to put runners at second and third with one out, but a pop out and a strikeout neutralized that threat.
Payton Diaz toed the rubber for the Cardinals. He pitched around a one-out single in the second and retired the side in order in the second, striking out three over his first six outs. Diaz, who was charged with the loss, fell to 0-3 on the season.
Diaz and the Cardinal defense put up zeroes for the first four innings before North Park broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth. A pair of two-out hits plated three runs for the Vikings in the inning, marking the first blemish on the scoreboard for either club.
The Cardinals faced trouble again in the sixth, as a leadoff double set the Vikings up nicely for the frame, but Diaz fought his way out of it, inducing popups to left and right field for the first two outs of the inning. An intentional pass and a walk loaded the bases for the Vikings, but Diaz held the line, freezing Justin Butch of the Vikings for a backwards "K" to keep the deficit at three.
The offense responded to the momentum, as Wallace drew a leadoff walk. He was able to advance to second two batters later on a ground ball to first, putting him in scoring position with two outs.
Bland sent a ball to left field that was misplayed by the North Park defender, allowing Bland to chug all the way to third and for Luke Wallace to score the Cardinals' first and only run of the ballgame.
The Vikings got the run back in the bottom of the seventh, as a one-out single scored a run to make it 4-1. The Cardinal defense, however, cut down a runner at the plate, as Yamada fielded a ball at short and fired home to get the out at the plate and keep the game within an arm's reach.
The Cardinals got the leadoff man on in the eighth but were unable to move him into scoring position, and coaxed a one-out walk in the ninth, but a pop out and a strikeout stopped the late rally attempt in its tracks.
Ethan Condit secured the save, North Park. It was his second of the season.
Bland's fifth-inning double extended his hit streak to three games, while Coberley stretched his to 11 and Wallace made it nine straight contests with a knock. Coberley, Wallace, Bland and Parker Wyatt all extended their respective on-base streaks to 11 games.
The Cardinal bullpen combined for 1.2 innings of scoreless ball. Brian Kud and Ryan Gerdes kept the Cardinals in the ballgame down the stretch, as neither of them surrendered a walk or a hit. The offense struggled to find the clutch hit Thursday, stranding 12 runners in the contest.
North Central starts a 9-game homestand tomorrow, taking on Calvin University in the first game of its three-game series to be played over Friday and Saturday. Tomorrow's ballgame is at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream at 6:45 p.m. The rest of the weekend is slated to be played at Zimmerman Stadium back on campus.
