Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Box Score

Mar. 29, 2017 – Digging themselves out of a first inning hole for the second straight game, the North Central College baseball team overcame a four-run deficit to score in six of their eight innings at the plate to defeat Carthage College, 11-6, earning their second College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) victory in as many days.

A rough top of the first inning for North Central featuring two walks, three hit by pitches and a base hit, Carthage was able to jump out to an early 4-0 lead after batting around in the opening frame.

The Cardinal offense slowly chipped away at the Carthage lead however, as Jeremy Quade led off the bottom of the first with a walk.  After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Quade promptly stole third and trotted home on an errant throw by the Red Men catcher, trimming the lead 4-1.

After Carthage got that run back in the top of the second, North Central cut the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the third, as Mike Noesen drew a bases loaded walk, scoring Sing Fong.

North Central continued the timely hitting, scoring multiple runs in three of the next four innings, including a pair in the bottom of the fourth on a Chris Hill single and a Foster Heise bases loaded walk, trimming the score 5-4.

Showing extreme patience at the plate, North Central drew 10 walks for the second straight game, as Adam Nelson walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth and later came around to score on a Quade base hit to center, knotting the score at five runs apiece.

Russell Hoh provided some much needed relief for the Cardinal pitching staff, allowing just one run over his six innings in relief after entering the game with just one out in the top of the first.

North Central broke the game wide open for Hoh, scoring three runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to overtake the lead 11-5, as all three runs in the sixth were unearned as the Cardinals took advantage of two Red Men throwing errors in the inning.

The top five batters in the Cardinal lineup finished a combined 10-for-21 from the plate with six walks, led by Quade's 3-for-5 performance with a walk, RBI and two runs scored.  Fong finished 2-for-5 from the dish with a walk, RBI and three runs scored, while Nick Sotiros, Hill and Noesen also recorded two hits apiece.

Hoh earned the victory on the mound, striking out six over his six innings of work, walking just one and scattering five hits.

Jared Knoespel paced the Red Men offense going 4-for-5 from the plate with three runs scored, while Reed Hero was 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.

North Central plays host to North Park University on Saturday, Apr. 1, with game one of the doubleheader slated for 12 p.m. at Zimmerman Stadium.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.