ELMHURST, Ill. (Apr. 12, 2021) – Completing the series sweep and increasing its win streak to 14 over Elmhurst University, the North Central College baseball team overpowered the Bluejays with a 14-8 final on Monday at Butterfield Park.

The offense exploded with a season-high 19 hits and were powered by a pair of five-run innings as the Cardinals now sit atop the conference standings with a record of 10-3.

Striking first in the top of the second, Paul Beverly led off with a double to center field, followed by a single to right off the bat of Joe Rizzo.  After Rizzo advanced to second on a wild pitch, Luke Gregorio shot a single through the right side, scoring a pair while taking an early 2-0 advantage.

While Luke Lamm was holding the Bluejays hitless through the first four innings, the offense added some run support in the top of the fifth to the tune of five runs as Luke Lehnen led off with a double to left field before Dom Listi launched his second homerun in as many days, a two-run shot to center.

Following a pair of outs, the Cardinals generated a little two-out rally as Jared Wojcik and Beverly each singled ahead of Rizzo who doubled home the duo, while Gregorio lined his second RBI-hit up the middle, scoring Rizzo and increasing the lead 7-0.

The Bluejays (11-11, 7-9 CCIW) finally got to Lamm in the bottom of the seventh as the first two batters of the inning reached, forcing a Cardinal pitching change.  Elmhurst pushed across four runs in the inning on four hits, but Nicholas Rietz struck out Lorenzo Farino looking to end the inning and strand the bases loaded.

North Central (15-5, 10-3 CCIW) took two of those runs back in the top of the eighth, led off by Rob Marinec's triple to center field.  After a couple outs, an intentional walk and a hit by pitch to load the bases, Gregorio once again came through in the clutch, pulling a two-out, two-RBI single to left.

Elmhurst plated a run in the bottom half of the inning before the Cardinals really put the game out of reach with another five-run inning in the top of the ninth.  Lehnen reached on an error to start the frame, before sprinting home on a triple to right off the bat of Listi. 

After Marinec walked, Wojcik plated Listi with a RBI-base hit to right center while Beverly walked to load the bases with one away.  Rizzo scored Marinec with a RBI-groundout, before Gregorio lined his fourth RBI-base hit of the game, a two-run single to right to put the Cardinals ahead 14-5.

All nine batters in the lineup recorded a hit for North Central, while six players finished with multiple hits, led by a career-best 4-for-6 showing with seven RBI for Gregorio.  Beverly finished 3-for-4 with two walks and four runs scored, while Rizzo added a 2-for-5 performance with three RBI and a pair of runs scored.

Listi was 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs scored, and his ninth-inning triple moves him into 10^th on the program's all-time list in just his sophomore campaign and first full season.  Listi's five triples also rank seventh on the program's single-season top-10.

Marinec's eighth-inning triple moves him into a tie for eighth all-time with nine career three-baggers, while Wojcik and Michael Stoltz each added a pair of hits.

Lamm improves his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season with the victory, allowing a pair of runs over six innings of work, striking out nine with just two walks.

North Central travels to Concordia University Chicago for the final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday, Apr. 14 with first pitch at Cougar Field scheduled for 3 p.m.