CARBONDALE, Ill. (Feb. 14, 2023) - Opening their season down in Carbondale, Illinois, the North Central College baseball team scored in seven straight innings, including 10 in the final three innings to earn a 16-5 victory over Ripon College on Saturday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.

After a scoreless first, Michael Davis doubled to open the second innings. Luke Lehnen tripled in his first at-bat of the season to drive in Davis. Lehnen scored on the next at-bat as Dave Fitzpatrick drove him in on a grounder to the shortstop. In the bottom half of the inning, starting pitcher Luke Lamm worked out of a jam to keep the Red Hawks off the board.

Rob Marinec began the third inning with a leadoff walk and came around to score on an error by the Red Hawks to take a 3-0 lead. Ripon battled back and scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the third. 

Following another leadoff walk, Michael Patterson scored thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of Justin Rios. Again, the Red Hawks responded and tied the game at 4-4 after four innings of play. The Cardinals took advantage of a Ripon error as Davis reached on an error to begin the fifth inning. He came around to score and give North Central a 5-4 lead. 

Robert Deischer entered the game to pitch for the Cardinals and posted a three-up, three-down bottom of the fifth inning. With the bases loaded in the top half of the sixth, Jack Oberli plated Rios before a two-run single from Davis opened up an 8-4 advantage for North Central. 

Lehnen and Fitzpatrick each reached base to open the seventh inning and moved into scoring position on a Patterson sacrifice bunt. Rios doubled to score both of them to take a 10-4 lead. After Marinec singled and  Dom Listi was hit by a pitch, Oberli took a walk to plate Rios. Scoring the fourth run of the inning was Marinec who crossed home plate on a Davis fielder's choice.

Ripon scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning. After reaching base to begin the eighth, Lehnen and Fitzpatrick both scored on wild pitches. With Patterson on first base, Marinec belted the Cardinals' first home run of the year over the left field fence. CJ Jensik kept the Red Hawks off the board in the bottom of the eighth as North Central earned a 16-5 win and moved to 1-0 on the year.

Marinec went 4-for-5 on the night with four runs and two runs batted in. Rios and Davis each drove in three runs on their two hits and also scored two runs apiece. Lehnen scored three times and drove in two on his two hits and a walk. 

Lamm struck out six batters in his four innings pitched to earn the win. He allowed just two earned runs on the night. Caleb Mammoser suffered the loss for Ripon with seven earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched.

North Central wraps up the trip to Carbondale tomorrow by facing Blackburn College at 10 a.m. and DePauw University at 4 p.m.