Apr. 7, 2018 – Continuing to pour on the offense, the North Central College baseball team racked up double digit runs in the doubleheader sweep of Carroll University on Saturday to remain unbeaten in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play, while head coach Ed Mathey tied the program's career wins record in the process.

Mathey ties legendary head coach and North Central Hall of Fame inductee Tom Purcell '74 with 304 career win in a Cardinal uniform.

North Central has outscored conference opponents 81-19 through the first seven games, while the pitching staff has recorded a 2.45 ERA, compared to opponents 10.30 ERA.

The Cardinals (11-6, 7-0 CCIW) dominated the opener, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the second inning.  John Carmody led off the frame with a walk before Mike Wisz deposited his third homerun of the season over the left-center field fence to break open the scoreless tie.

Colin Weilbacher followed the Wisz homer with another walk, proceeded to steal second and came around to score on a Rob Marinec double to left field a few pitches later.  Matt Sutherland followed with an infield single, putting runners on first and third with nobody out.  North Central then attempted a double steal, as Sutherland was thrown out at second but the throw down to second allowed Marinec to come home and score.

The Cardinals were not done scoring in the bottom of the second, as Jeremy Quade was hit by a pitch, while Eric Outlaw extended the inning with a base hit and Michael Mateja capped the scoring in the frame with a RBI-double to right center, scoring Quade to give North Central a 5-0 lead.

The scoring continued into the bottom of the third for North Central, as Weilbacher lined a one-out single to right, stole second and scored on a Marinec single, much like the inning prior, increasing the lead 6-0.

Continuing to pour it on in the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals sent nine batters to the plate, scoring four runs while taking advantage of a pair of Pioneer errors in the inning to add insult to injury.

Russell Hoh meanwhile kept the Pioneers off balance all game long, tossing his second straight complete game shutout, allowing just four hits over his seven innings pitched, striking out five and walking none.

Marinec led all players with a 4-for-4 showing from the dish, adding three RBI and three runs scored, while Sutherland finished 2-for-2 with two walks and a RBI.  Weilbacher finished the opener 1-for-2 with a walk, hit by pitch and three RBI, while Carmody also finished 1-for-2 to go along with two walks, two runs scored and one driven in.

The offense started off a little slow in the nightcap, as Carroll jumped on the board with a pair of two-out runs in the top of the first, before the Cardinals countered with a run in the bottom of the second on a Joe Rizzo sacrifice fly.

After a pair of scoreless frames, North Central took its first lead of the nightcap in the bottom of the fifth, generating three two-out runs.  Mateja doubled to start the rally, followed by a walk from Carmody and a RBI-single to right center off the bat of Wisz, knotting the score 2-2.

Weilbacher then walked to load the bases, before Marinec stepped to the plate and delivered a two-RBI single to left, scoring Carmody and Wisz to put the Cardinals ahead 4-2.

That lead did not last long however, as Carroll (10-9, 0-7 CCIW) countered for three more runs in the top of the sixth to regain the lead 5-4.

The Cardinal bats really came alive in the  bottom half of the sixth, sending 12 batters to the plate to score nine runs and really take control of the contest.  Sutherland led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score two batters later on a RBI-double from Outlaw. 

Mateja then reached via bunt single, before Wisz doubled home a pair two batters later with a clutch two-out hit.  The Cardinals continued to pour on the offense all with two outs, as a Pioneer error extended the inning and North Central took full advantage.

Following the error, Marinec launched a three-run homer over the left field fence, his team-leading fourth of the season, extending the lead 10-5.

Rizzo followed the homerun with a single to left, while Sutherland and Quade each walked to load the bags.  Outlaw stepped to the plate and made the Pioneers pay, driving home a pair with a single to right, while Quade came around to score as Outlaw got caught in a rundown between first and second, but was held up just long enough to allow Quade to sprint home, capping the nine-run inning to extend the lead 13-5.

Running low on pitching, Carroll was forced to use their fifth pitcher of the contest in the bottom of the seventh, as back-to-back walks to start the inning proved fatal.  With runners on first and second and one out, Weilbacher walked the Cardinals off with a three-run shot to left, ending the nightcap early 16-5.

Wisz finished 2-for-3 in game two with two walks, three runs scored and three driven in.  Mateja finished 3-for-4 from the plate with a walk and three runs scored, extending his reached-base streak to 60 games dating back to Mar. 20, 2017.  Outlaw and Marinec also recorded multiple hits in the night cap, as Marinec drove home five runs and Outlaw sent home three.

Anthony Serafini earned the victory in relief of Cardinal starter Charlie Klemm, who tossed 5 2/3, allowing five runs on four hits, striking out seven.

The Cardinals will go for the season sweep of Carroll tomorrow, with the final game of the season series at 1 p.m. at Zimmerman Stadium.