Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Apr. 18, 2026) - In a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan University, the North Central College baseball team issued 25 walks as the Titans took advantage to win both games Saturday at Horenberger Field.
After both starting pitchers faced the minimum in the first inning, Payton Diaz doubled down the right field line for the game's first hit. Caleb Coberley followed with an RBI single to give North Central a 1-0 lead.
The Titans countered in the bottom of the second, drawing four walks to tie the game. Jonny Rossi induced a double play to limit the damage. In the third, Illinois Wesleyan drew two walks to open the frame. A fielder's choice moved both runners up 90 feet before an RBI groundout gave the hosts a 2-1 lead without a hit.
After Coberley drew a walk to begin the fourth, Caleb Smith lifted a two-run home run to right to put North Central back in front, 3-2.
Illinois Wesleyan's Luke Morelli led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to even the score at 3-3. A walk and a double ended Rossi's outing as Jim Shortall entered in relief. Two more walks pushed the Titans ahead, 4-3. A sacrifice fly and two-run single extended the margin to 7-3. In the fifth, Illinois Wesleyan used five hits, four walks, a hit batter and an error to add eight runs and build a 15-3 advantage.
Jackson Bland opened the seventh with a solo home run to right. Singles from Parker Wyatt and Diaz followed, but the Titans held on for a 15-4 win in seven innings.
Diaz led the Cardinals with three hits in game one. Smith and Bland each added to their season home run totals. Rossi suffered the loss, falling to 2-3 after allowing five runs on seven walks and two hits in three innings. Cole Shamhart earned the win with six innings, three runs allowed and eight strikeouts.
Despite a walk from Bland and a single by Wyatt, North Central was held scoreless in the top of the first inning in the nightcap. A leadoff single and RBI double put the Titans up early, 1-0.
Coberley led off the second with a single to left. An Andre Medina walk and Ryan Huskey hit by pitch loaded the bases for Smith, who drove in Coberley on an RBI fielder's choice.
Tyler Pritchard held the Titans scoreless in the bottom of the second and third innings. A leadoff single in the fourth led to two runs with the help of a double and two walks as the hosts took a 3-1 lead.
Bland opened the fifth with a walk. Wyatt was hit by a pitch and both advanced on a wild pitch. Coberley delivered a sacrifice fly to score Bland and bring North Central within a run, 3-2.
After the Titans added a run in the bottom of the fifth, Huskey singled to right to begin the sixth. Smith's sacrifice bunt moved Huskey up 90 feet before a Yuhki Yamada RBI single tied the game. A Luke Wallace bunt single and another Bland walk loaded the bases for Wyatt, who tied the game at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly.
Illinois Wesleyan answered in the bottom half, scoring four runs on three hits and four walks to take an 8-4 lead.
Huskey belted his first career home run to cut into the deficit. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases, but North Central stranded all three runners. Parker Eickhorst worked two scoreless innings, pitching around a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.
North Central was held scoreless the rest of the way as the Titans secured an 8-5 win. Huskey led the Cardinals with three hits and two runs. Bland drew four walks on the day, while Smith drew three.
Brian DuVall suffered the loss, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings. Cardinal pitchers issued 12 walks in game two.
North Central and Illinois Wesleyan conclude the three-game series Sunday with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Zimmerman Stadium.
