Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
Apr. 16, 2026 - Scoring 10 unanswered runs while holding Benedictine University scoreless over the final eight innings, the North Central College baseball team earned a 10-2 victory Thursday night at Zimmerman Stadium.
A leadoff double and two-run home run put the Eagles in front in the top of the first. Cardinal starter Brian Duvall settled in with a 1-2-3 second inning.
North Central answered in the third after Yuhki Yamada reached on an error. A Luke Wallace bunt single and Jackson Bland walk loaded the bases before Parker Wyatt lifted a sacrifice fly to score Yamada. Following a Payton Diaz walk, Caleb Coberley tied the game with an RBI single. Peyton Burgh added a sacrifice fly to bring in Bland for a 3-2 lead.
Duvall worked around back-to-back singles to start the fourth, keeping Benedictine off the board. In the bottom half, a walk, hit by pitch and Bland single loaded the bases. Wyatt drove in Yamada on an RBI groundout to extend the lead.
Brian Kud relieved Duvall in the fifth and held the Eagles hitless. He allowed only a two-out single in the sixth while recording his fourth strikeout.
Caleb Smith opened the bottom of the sixth with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a balk. Bland doubled to right center to score Smith. Wyatt followed with a no-doubt home run to left, his fifth in the past seven games, to push the lead to 7-2.
Gavin Rosengren delivered a three-up, three-down seventh. Andre Medina reached on an error in the bottom half before Smith doubled to score North Central's eighth run.
In the eighth, Frankie Valli was hit by a pitch, Fernando Tillery Jr. singled and Coberley was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With no place to put the batter, Ryan Huskey and Medina each drew RBI hit by pitches for a 10-2 advantage.
Gavin Gawronski did not allow a hit in the ninth to close out the Cardinals' sixth straight win over Benedictine, the longest streak in the series.
Bland led all hitters with three hits, scoring twice with an RBI. Wyatt totaled four RBI, including a two-run homer. His double in the first inning moved him into a tie for the eighth-most doubles in a single season in program history with 17.
North Central's pitching staff allowed two runs with nine strikeouts. Duvall earned his second win of the season, while Kud, Rosengren, Ben Muhich, and Gawronski each turned in scoreless outings.
North Central returns to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play Saturday with a doubleheader at Illinois Wesleyan University. First pitch of game one is scheduled for noon at Horenberger Field.
