BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 8, 2021) – Scoring its fourth four-game sweep over a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) opponent this season, the North Central College baseball team took both games of the doubleheader from Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday by scores of 5-3 and 11-0 and have now won 19 of the last 20 games.

With the opener tied 3-3 heading to the top of the ninth, Luke Gregorio led off the inning with a single to center, before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Michael Stoltz.  Gregorio then advanced to third on a groundout, ahead of Dom Listi who delivered the big two-out knock, a RBI-single to score Gregorio and what proved to be the game-winning run.

The Cardinals (30-6, 24-4 CCIW) added an insurance run two batters later as Justin Rios lined a single to left, making the Titans pay for intentionally walking Rob Marinec to give the Cardinals a 5-3 lead.

After entering the game in the bottom of the eighth, Nolan Shannon shut down the Titans with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to earn his second win of the season.

Jason Shanner was credited with a no-decision after going seven strong innings, allowing just two earned with six strikeouts to just one walk.

Offensively in the opener, Luke Lehnen was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while Paul Beverly finished 2-for-4 with a run and Marinec was 1-for-2 with two walks, a hit by pitch and RBI.

The nightcap was all North Central, jumping on Titan pitching for nine runs over the first two innings, including four in the first as Michael Davis plated the first run on a sacrifice fly to right, before Beverly stepped into his first homerun of the season, as three-run shot to give Ryan Behling all the run support needed on the afternoon.

Behling proceeded to shutout the Titans over the next seven innings, allowing just three hits, all singles, while striking out five and walking just one to improve to 5-0 on the season.

The Cardinal offense meanwhile erupted for five more in the bottom of the second, as Marinec and Rios each delivered RBI-doubles, while Beverly drove in another with a single to right to give North Central a 9-0 advantage.

North Central closed the game out in seven with a run in the fifth and seventh, as Beverly was 3-for-3 with four RBI and two run scored in game two, while Rios finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, two driven in and two runs scored.  Marinec was 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and two run scored, while Lehnen also scored twice.

Marinec moves into sole possession of second on the program's all-time runs batted in list, passing Craig Stefan '87 with his 161^st career RBI.

The Cardinals currently hold a three-game lead over Augustana College atop the conference standings with just four regular season games remaining.  North Central goes for its fifth sweep of a CCIW opponent this season on Tuesday, May 11, traveling to Elmhurst University with first pitch at Butterfield Park set for 3 p.m.