The Carthage College baseball team (8-6, 0-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened its conference schedule on Wednesday, March 27 with a 14-11 loss to North Park University (8-5, 1-0) at the Holmgren Athletic Complex in Chicago.
A two-run homer down the right field line by Vince Schwartz put Carthage up by two runs in the top of the first, 2-0. The Red Men took a 5-0 lead in the second on a Ricky Bergstrom RBI-single, a Colton Klein sacrifice fly and an RBI-single by Ryan Kramer. The Vikings got two runs back in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 5-2.
A two-out, two-run single by Ranko Stevanovic in the fourth narrowed the lead to 5-4. Jake Reinhardt followed with a three-run homer to left, and North Park led by two, 7-5. The home run chased Carthage starting pitcher Dante Guarascio from the game.
The Red Men tied the contest, 7-7, in the seventh on a two-run double by Vince Schwartz. That tie was short-lived, as North Park scored six times in the bottom half to re-gain the lead, 13-7. Brandon Davis drove in the go-ahead run with a double. Anthony DiNardo followed with an RBI-single and Jared Cantu an RBI-grounder. Cullen Gilbertson picked up an RBI with a bases-loaded walk before Stevanovic singled in a run. Jake Reinhardt drove in the inning's sixth and final run with a sacrifice fly. DiNardo added a solo home run in the eighth for a 14-7 margin.
The game wasn't quite over, however, as the Red Men loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth, and Schwartz connected for a grand-slam, cutting the lead to three runs, 14-11. Following the Schwartz grand slam, North Park coach Luke Johnson switched Justin Woolbright from third base to the pitching mound. Woolbright got the next three batters in order to preserve the win.
Tyler Banks (3-1) was the winning pitcher despite giving up six runs in three innings. Woolbright earned his third save. Carthage starter Dante Guarascio gave up seven runs on four hits and four walks over the first three and two-thirds innings. "Guarascio pitched well at times," said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt IV, "but walks and hit batters continue to be a problem. He just wasn't consistent enough in the strike zone. He was also a little unlucky in the fourth inning when North Park blooped three hits to the same spot down the right field line."
Chance Roach (1-1) took over in the fourth and wound up with the loss. Roach surrendered four runs on four hits in two and one-third innings. Alden Earl and Pasquale Atteo relieved in the seventh and Brian Polaski in the eighth. Vince Schwartz went four-for-five for the Red Men with two runs scored, a double, two home runs and eight RBI.
"This was a bad one," admitted Schmidt, "and we're going to have to get a whole lot better than this. If your score 11 runs, you should be a little more into the game. The conference season isn't all that long, we need to get on a roll and stay on one."
Carthage is scheduled to open a three-game series with CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (5-7, 0-0 CCIW) on Saturday, March 30. The two teams play a Noon doubleheader on Saturday at Butterfield Park in Elmhurst, Ill., followed by a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday, March 31 at Augie Schmidt Field in Kenosha, Wis.