North Central College Cardinals

Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 7, 2026)- Fueled by a come-from-behind victory, the No. 5 seed Cardinals used seven runs scored across the home half of the fifth and sixth innings to knock off No. 4 Carthage in a win-or-go-home game to advance to double elimination with an 8-5 victory.

Sam Schilf worked around a leadoff single to Clare Rettler and left the first inning scoreless. The Cardinals responded with a run thanks to a leadoff walk and stolen base by Gwen Shouse. Hailey Morsovillo advanced Shouse 60 feet and she scored on a squeeze bunt by Lauren Bowmar to make it a 1-0 ballgame. 

Schilf continued to deal, posting scoreless frames in the second and third innings. The Firebirds tied the game 1-1 in the fourth inning after an infield single and an RBI double that caromed off the center field wall. Schilf battled back and delivered two strikeouts and a groundout to leave the inning tied. 

A pitching change was made in the top of the fifth inning, putting Juliana Maude in for Schilf. Maude managed the Firebirds' lineup, getting two outs after a leadoff single, but a groundball hit to third got by the defender and scored the runner from second, giving Carthage a 2-1 lead. The Firebirds then loaded the bases with two walks and blew the game open with a two-RBI double, making it a 4-1 score. A bloop single to right field tacked on a fifth run for Carthage, putting them ahead, 5-1. 

North Central persevered in the home half of the fifth. The Cardinals loaded the bases with singles from Sydney Nienhouse and Charlotte Toosley, while Bailey Miller walked to turn the lineup card over. Shouse chipped into the lead with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2 and Gracie Vlach loaded the bases back up with a single to left field. Morsovillo roped a bases-clearing double to left center field to tie the game 5-5. 

Reentering the game to pitch was Schilf, who threw a scoreless frame and the Cardinals took control in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Kayla Lindberg reached on a hit by pitch and Miller walked. Shouse went opposite field to left center field for a two-RBI double to take the 7-5 lead over the Firebirds. Vlach reached on a throwing error by Carthage's second baseman, and Shouse went from second to home on the error, extending the lead to 8-5. Schilf locked down the game in the seventh, inducing three groundballs. 

With the 8-5 win over Carthage, the Cardinals advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, where they faced the No. 1 seed and host of the CCIW Tournament, Illinois Wesleyan University. 

North Central trailed 1-0 after a first-inning RBI single by the Titans but took the lead, 2-1, in the third inning. A pair of singles by Miller and Shouse put runners in scoring position and Morsovillo drove in her fourth and fifth runs of the day with a base hit to left center field. Maude settled into the contest, tossing a scoreless third inning and working around two walks. The Titans came storming back in the fourth inning with a six-spot, fueled by six consecutive base hits. A double by the Titans cleared the bases, making it 3-2 and three infield singles scored two more runs for the Titans with timely base running. A groundball deflected off of Sam Schilf, who entered the ballgame for Maude, scored two for IWU, making it a 7-2 score. Schilf ended the frame with a groundout. 

The Titans added an insurance run in the sixth inning to make it 8-2, but Miller brought the Cardinals new life with a three-run home run dead center, driving in Emma Herder and Nienhouse. The Titans had a response in the seventh with an RBI single through the left side of the infield, making it a 9-5 score. 

With the Cardinals down to their final three outs, they rallied, getting Vlach and Morsovillo on with singles. Bowmar plated Vlach with a base hit to left field and put runners on second and third while trailing 9-6. The next at bat was a groundout that the Cardinals got doubled up on with a base-running mishap, and the game ended with a groundout to third in the 9-6 finish of game two. 

North Central has to battle back to keep its CCIW Tournament Championship hopes alive as they play a win-or-go-home game tomorrow at 1 p.m. from Inspiration Field, facing the loser of the Augustana College vs. Millikin University game.