In its 2014 home opener Friday, North Park jumped out to an early lead and coasted to a 9-2 victory over the College of St. Scholastica. They later extended their win streak to five games with a 9-6 victory over Aurora University in the nightcap.
Starter Nick Soldano looked sharp in the first inning, striking out the first two batters. He then walked the third batter but promptly picked him off to end the inning. In the bottom of the frame, the Viking offense capitalized on some wildness to take a 4-0 lead. Leadoff batter Zak Worsley was hit by a pitch and Eric Sousanes followed with a walk. Tommy Endres was hit by another pitch to load the bases for Joe Belmonte, who lined a single to score two. After the next two batters were retired, Cam Adams launched a line drive that tipped off the centerfielder's glove for a two-run double.
North Park added a single run in the second when Worsley walked, advanced to third on a fielder's choice and an error, and was the front end of a double steal.
The Saints scored their only runs of the game in the sixth. A leadoff single and a home run to left by Jordan Risse made it 5-2. Alex Vannucci relieved Soldano and retired the side without further damage.
The Vikings got one run back in the bottom of the sixth when Endres hit a double to center to drive in Sousanes. They wrapped up the scoring with three runs in their half of the eighth: Connor Sarant, Worsley, and Sousanes each singled to load the bases with none out. A sacrifice fly by Endres and a two-run single by Belmonte gave North Park their definitive 9-2 score.
For the Vikings (7-5), Soldano picked up his second win with 5 1/3 innings of five-hit, five-strikeout ball. Vannucci worked 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first save. Worsley, Sousanes, Belmonte, Sarant, and Dan Sabin each had two hits, with Belmonte driving in four and Endres and Adams, two apiece.
The second game was much closer than the earlier 9-2 win over St. Scholastica. The Spartans took a 1-0 lead against starter Jason Meger in the first on a walk, a single, and a double play. The Vikings came right back to tie the contest on Eric Sousanes' solo home run to left center. Aurora's Jared Swain doubled to lead off the second and scored on a single by Michael Cherven, but the rally was quelled by the second double play turned by the Vikings in as many innings. The Spartans repeated the combination in the fourth on another double by Swain and another run-scoring single by Cherven.
The Vikings put three on the board in the bottom of the fourth to take their first lead of the game. Sousanes and Tommy Endres walked and Joe Belmonte connected for an RBI single. A Mike Coduto groundout scored Endres, and a Tyler Woolbright base hit drove in Belmonte. North Park added three more in the fourth as Connor Sarant and Sousanes each singled, Endres grounded out to score Sarant, Belmonte hit another RBI single, and a passed ball followed by a wild pitch allowed Belmonte to score.
Meger gave up a triple and a single to start the sixth that cut the lead to 7-4. Kenny Blanchard relieved Meger with one out in the seventh and set down the first five batters he faced. The Vikings added two insurance runs in the seventh on a Sousanes single, an Endres walk, a Dan Sabin run-scoring base hit, and a delayed double-steal in which Endres scored. The Spartans managed to score twice – one unearned run on the lone Viking error of the doubleheader – but Blanchard fanned the last batter to preserve the victory and pick up his first save.
Sousanes finished a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs scored and two stolen bases. Belmonte and Woolbright each had a pair of hits. Meger (3-1) worked 6 1/3 innings in his third start as the Vikings move to 8-5. They face UW Oshkosh in tomorrow's single game.