Game #1 Box Score
The Carthage College baseball team (14-10, 6-4 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 28th in the April 13 “D3baseball.com” poll, lost to CCIW-opponent North Central College (19-4, 8-2 CCIW), 14-13, on Saturday, April 17 at Zimmerman Stadium/Alumni Field in Naperville, Ill. Carthage was leading the second game of the doubleheader, 10-7, in the middle of the seventh inning when the contest was suspended, on account of darkness.
In the first game, North Central struck for three runs in the first inning off Carthage starting pitcher Mario Perez. Michael Corrigan hit a sacrifice fly, and Joe Turek followed with a two-run homer. Carthage took a 5-3 lead in the second. Josh Albers hit an RBI-single, Nate Hughes an RBI-double, Matt Soderlund a two-run single and Tyler Eickmeyer a sacrifice fly. The Cardinals scored a run in the third on another Corrigan sacrifice fly to make it 5-4. In the fourth, North Central loaded the bases on an error by shortstop Tyler Eickmeyer, a hit batter and a walk. Perez walked Matt Abraham to force in a run, Corrigan followed with his third sacrifice fly, setting a Carthage opponent game record in the process. A second error by Eickmeyer allowed Dan Scott to score, and the Cardinals, led, 7-5. The Red Men took a 9-7 lead in the fifth on a two-run single by Will Hodges and a two-run homer by Josh Albers. A solo home run by Joey Aiello in the sixth gave Carthage a 10-7 lead. Matt Abraham connected on a solo home run in the sixth off Red Men relief pitcher Bryan Kieffer to make it a 10-8 game. Zach Kozlowski's three-run homer in the eighth lifted Carthage to a 13-8 lead.
The Cardinals scored six times in the ninth to win the game. Matt Burke singled, Peter Romanello walked, and Nick Robinson singled in a run. Dan Scott singled to load the bases. Matt Abraham reached on an error by shortstop Tyler Eickmeyer, allowing Romanello to score. Corrigan walked to force in Robinson, and the score was 13-11. Scott Danly replaced Bryan Kieffer on the hill, and Joe Turek hit a sacrifice to make it 13-12. Brennan Hagansee followed with a two-run triple to score both the tying and the game-winning runs. Mario Perez went the first four and two-thirds innings and allowed seven runs, five earned, on five hits and five walks. The loss went to Bryan Kieffer (1-2). Mike Charles (1-0), the third Cardinal hurler, picked up the win. Joe Turek went three-for-five with three RBI. Joey Aiello went three-for-four with an RBI, and Josh Albers went two-for-five with three RBI.
In the nightcap, North Central took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Carthage went up, 4-1, in the third. Joey Aiello and Tim Hansen hit back-to-back doubles, scoring Aiello, and Will Hodges singled to score Hansen. Josh Albers singled to score Hodges, and Eric Barber doubled in Albers. The Cardinals cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Nick Robinson. North Central took a 5-4 lead with three runs in the fourth. Matt Burke hit a sacrifice fly and Dan Scott a two-run single. The Red Men re-gained the lead, 6-5, in the fifth, thanks to a two-run double by Joey Aiello. The Cardinals went back up, 7-6, in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double by Matt Burke. Carthage tied the game, 7-7, in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Trevor Whately. The Red Men took a 10-7 lead with three runs in the seventh. Zach Kozlowski hit a bases-loaded, RBI-single. Will Hodges scored on a front end of a double play, and Mike Petti doubled in the third run of the inning. The Cardinals were held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, and the game was suspended at that point, on account of darkness, at 7:35 p.m. The contest will be resumed at that point on Sunday, April 18 at the Carthage Baseball Field, beginning at 1 p.m. The regularly-scheduled third game of the series will follow the suspended game.
