May 7, 2021 – The North Central College baseball team clawed out a tough 8-7 win over Illinois Wesleyan University on Friday in a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) game at Zimmerman Stadium, as the Cardinals have now won 17 of the last 18.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinals (28-6, 22-4 CCIW) were thrilled to see Titan starter Hunter Simon pulled after five innings of work, wasting to time in tying the game against reliever Cooper Kraft, as Luke Gregorio drew a one-out walk and quickly scored on a Michael Stoltz's first career triple to left center.

Stoltz then printed home on a wild pitch to overtake the lead 4-3, before Dom Listi was hit by a pitch two batters later, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out, RBI-single off the bat of Rob Marinec to increase the lead 5-3.
After Illinois Wesleyan (16-18, 11-15 CCIW) cut the lead to one with a run in the top of the eighth, the Cardinals added three huge runs in the bottom of the frame as Stoltz legged out an infield single and Lehnen followed with a walk to jumpstart the rally.

Following a passed ball allowing the pair to move up a base, Stoltz scored on a wild pitch to plate the first run of the inning.  Listi then walked to put runners on first and third with nobody out, before stealing second ahead of Justin Rios who delivered a clutch two-run scoring base hit to right, increasing the North Central lead 8-4.

The Titans made a game of it in the ninth, plating three runs to cut the lead to just one and with the tying run at first, Patrick Schaefer induced a groundout to third to secure his sixth save of the season.  Schaefer's six saves this season rank fourth on the program's single-season list, needing just one more to tie the record.

Luke Lamm earned the win on the mound, improving to 9-0 on the season while tying the program's single-season wins record in the process.  Lamm went seven innings, allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out nine and walking just two.

Stoltz finished 3-for-4 from the plate with three runs scored and two RBI to pace the Cardinal offense, while Rios was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. Marinec also finished 2-for-4 with a walk and RBI, while Lehnen was 2-for-3 with a walk, run scored and RBI.

With two more triples on the afternoon, North Central now holds sole possession of the NCAA Division III lead with 25 this season, already a new program single-season record.

The two teams complete the four-game season series on Saturday, May 8 with game one of the doubleheader scheduled for 12 p.m. at Horenberger Stadium.  The Cardinals are 2-0 so far this season against the Titans and still hold a slim two-game lead over Augustana College atop the conference standings with six regular-season games remaining.