CHICAGO, IL (May 8, 2011) – North Park qualified for postseason action for the second consecutive season as the Vikings took two of three from 20th-ranked Carthage College this weekend. The Blue and Gold split a doubleheader on Saturday in Kenosha, winning game one 13-6, then dropping game two 3-2. The Vikings won a thriller in Chicago on Sunday, rallying for two runs in the eighth for a 5-4 victory.
In game one, North Park jumped on Red Men ace Mario Perez (3-2, 1.80 ERA entering the contest) early, striking for three in the first and two in the fourth. Trevor Popp led off the game with a double and moved to third on a single by Eric Sousanes. Mike Domenick drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Brad Medina followed with a long home run to left to stake starter Steve Kuligowski (7-2) to a 3-0 lead. In the fourth, Angel Carrasco hit a two-run homer to put the Vikings up by five.
Carthage mounted a two-run rally in the fourth on four hits and a groundout, but North Park answered with three in the top of the fifth. Andy Athans drew a leadoff walk, Medina singled, and Zach Deutscher drove both runners in with a monstrous double to straightaway center. Deutscher moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Wade Yunker and came in on a sac fly off the bat of Carrasco.
After Carthage scored a single tally in the fifth, North Park took advantage of a Red Men miscue to plate two runs. Sousanes reached on a throwing error, Domenick and Athans were hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Medina stroked a two-run single for a 10-3 lead. Carthage's Matt Soderlund hit a two-run homer to bring the Red Men to within five, but that would be as close as they would come. Mike Sommerfield scored on a single by Sousanes in the seventh, and a pair of Carthage errors allowed two runs to score in the ninth: Carrasco came in on a single by Popp, who took third on an errant throw; Popp would score on Sousanes' fourth hit of the game. Carthage added a run in their half of the ninth against reliever Mike Coduto.
After a 17-hit attack in game one, North Park managed only seven in game two, dropping a close contest to Carthage. North Park took a 1-0 lead in the second when Deutscher doubled, took third on a groundout, and came home on an error. The Red Men scored two unearned runs in the third against starter Pete Sparacino: with two on and two outs, a grounder to second was snagged by Sousanes, who then lost his footing and could not get the runner at first while the other runner scored. A double followed to put the Red Men up 2-1. Sparacino and Carthage hurler Danny Dahm remained locked in a pitchers' duel through six innings. North Park managed to score another unearned run in the seventh: Yunker walked, moved up on a sac bunt by Carrasco, and scored on a throw in the dirt as Popp raced to first. The Red Men loaded the bases against Sparacino in the eighth on a single and two walks, then broke the deadlock on a sac fly against reliever Paul Garcia.
On Senior Day, five seniors came through in the bottom of the eighth as North Park overcame a one-run deficit to defeat Carthage. The Vikings jumped on Carthage starter Eric Rohe for three runs in the first. Popp was hit by a pitch (for the 19th time, a new single-season record), Sousanes singled, and Domenick doubled for the first run. Athans hit a run-scoring groundout to second, and Medina followed with a sacrifice fly to stake Nick Soldano to a 3-0 lead. Rohe then settled in and held the Vikings scoreless for the next six frames.
Soldano was strong early on but was backed by some great defensive plays. In the first inning, the Red Men's Josh Aiello hit a soft liner to right, but right fielder Yunker got to the ball quickly and fired to first for a putout. A double play in the second erased a leadoff walk. In the third, Carthage's Mike Pugliese singled to left field and tried to stretch it into a double, but left fielder Sommerfield, who pegged a perfect strike to second baseman Sousanes to get Pugliese.
Soldano yielded an unearned run in the fourth on a double and the lone Viking error of the game. Carthage opened the seventh with three consecutive singles to score a run, knocking Soldano out of the box in favor of reliever Garcia. Pinch hitter Chris D'Angelo tried a bunt, but Garcia fired a strike to Carrasco at third for the first out. Garcia fanned pinch hitter Tyler Eickmeyer, and catcher Deutscher gunned down Kyle Pusateri, who was trying to steal third, for the final out of the inning.
The eighth inning was no less dramatic. Three straight singles -- two by bunt -- loaded the bases against Garcia, who was lifted for reliever Merrick McGrady. He induced cleanup hitter Will Hodges to hit into a double play, while the tying run scored, and a passed ball gave Carthage its first and only lead of the game.
In the bottom of the eighth, five seniors stepped up for a two-run rally. Deutscher had a one-out single and Yunker was hit by a pitch -- the team's 100th HBP this season -- to knock Rohe out of the game. Reliever Mitch Lochen then hit Carrasco to load the bases. Sommerfield hit a grounder to the hole at short, but shortstop Pusateri couldn't reel it in, and Deutscher scored the tying run. Popp hit a bouncer to second, which Eickmeyer fielded cleanly but couldn't get out of his glove in time to throw home, allowing Yunker to score the go-ahead run. McGrady (3-1) retired all three Carthage batters in the ninth on fly balls for the victory.
The Vikings (29-10, 14-6) host Augustana in a make-up contest, tentatively scheduled for Monday afternoon, as they close out a very successful regular season. Depending on the outcome of Monday's game will determine if North Park wins a share of the conference title, its first since the 1990 season,
