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

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

May 13, 2017 – In perhaps two of the most dramatic games in program history, the North Central College baseball team entered the day needing two wins over Augustana College on championship Saturday at the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament and shocked everyone in attendance by mounting ninth-innings comebacks in both games to clinch the first CCIW Tournament title since 1998 while earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III Tournament.

North Central (25-16) was down to their last three outs trailing in the ninth of both games, but showed the resiliency of champions to comeback in improbable fashion and earn the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive season and the eighth time in program history.  The CCIW Tournament title is also the eighth in program history (1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2017), snapping an 18-year drought since the last conference tournament title.

In a bizarre game one, the Cardinals jumped out to a 10-0 lead after four and a half innings of play, thanks in part to a seven-run top of the third as the Cardinals were the visiting team in the opener.  After loading the bases with no outs, Nick Sotiros launched an absolute mammoth of a grand slam over the left field fence on a 1-1 pitch from Mike Powers to quickly put North Central ahead 4-0.

Chris Hill and John Carmody followed the homerun with a pair of singles, while Ryan Scott walked after a flyout to load the bases yet again, this time with one out.  Matt Sutherland stepped to the plate and took a pitch between the shoulder blades to drive in Hill, while Robert Zebrauskas shot an opposite-field single to right center, scoring Carmody and Scott to increase the Cardinal lead 7-0.

The Cardinal bats were not finished either, as Scott and Zebrauskas each singled in the top of the fifth to get the Cardinal rally started, before Michael Mateja drove the pair home with a two-RBI double down the left field line.  Later in the inning with two outs, Sotiros struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt, but the subsequent throw to first sailed past the Viking first baseman, allowing Mateja to score and increasing the lead 10-0.

Things fell apart rather quickly after that however, as Augustana mounted an unbelievable comeback, scoring 11 unanswered runs over the next four innings to take an 11-10 lead while the Cardinal bats went silent and were three outs away from clinching the title.

The Cardinals showed some guts in the top of the ninth however, as Quade singled with one out in the inning and advanced to third on a Sotiros single to put the tying run at third.  An infield pop-up backed the Cardinals in a corner with just one out to play with, when Sotiros wisely stole second as the Vikings completely forgot about the runner at first which proved to be a massive mistake as Carmody lofted a single to right, allowing both runs to score while regaining the lead 11-10.

Heading to the ninth, the Vikings had the tying run on first when Nick Rogalski forced Mitch Ruh to bounce into a 6-4-3 game-ending double play to force a winner take all game seven.

In the nightcap, it was the Vikings who took the early advantage, leading 10-3 after three innings of play and seemed to be in the driver's seat, but as the Cardinals proved in the opener, no lead is safe.

The Cardinal comeback began with a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Quade and a two-RBI single off the bat of Hill to cut the Viking lead 10-7.

Augustana added a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings to increase their lead back to 12-7, before the Cardinals got a run back on a RBI-single off the bat of Carmody, while plating another run in the bottom of the seventh on a Quade sacrifice fly to gain those two runs right back and pull to within three yet again.

After a scoreless eighth and top of the ninth for Augustana, the Vikings were once again just three outs from the championship when Sutherland came through with his first hit of the game, singling up the middle, before Zebrauskas drew a four-pitch walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Mateja.

On a 1-2 pitch, Mateja blooped a single the opposite way to load the bases with nobody out.  Quade then drove home Sutherland on a RBI-groundout to first, before Sotiros came through in the clutch with a two-run triple to the center field fence on a 2-2 pitch, tying the score in dramatic fashion.

With the middle of the Cardinal order looming with just one out in the inning and the game-winning run on third, the Vikings issued intentional walks to Hill and Carmody, setting the stage for Sing Fong and the senior came through when it mattered most.  After starting the game 0-for-5, Fong made that all disappear with one swing of the bat, lining a walkoff single over the head of the drawn-in Viking defense to send the Cardinals to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Rogalski earned the victory for the Cardinal in both games, tossing two scoreless innings in the opener, before a scoreless inning and a third in the nightcap, improving to 5-2 on the season.

Sotiros finished the two games a combined 5-for-10 with seven RBI and six runs scored to lead the Cardinal offense, while Carmody was also 5-for-10, driving in four runs while scoring one.  Mateja finished the afternoon 6-for-12 with four runs scored and three RBI, increasing his reached-base streak to 36 straight games.  His second inning triple in game two gives him seven on the season, tying the program's single-season record set by Kory Witmer in 1994.

Zebrauskas reached base in all five plate appearances in game two, finishing his day a combined 3-for-6 with four walks, four runs scored and three driven in.

North Central will find out which NCAA Division III Regional they will be heading to on Monday, May 15 as the national field will be announced via NCAA.com.