PICTURED: Greg Grana
A seven-run seventh inning broke open a close game as North Park dropped a 14-4 decision to Johns Hopkins University in the final contest of this spring's Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.
Starting pitcher Jason Meger held the Blue Jays scoreless through the first four frames. In the third Johns Hopkins had two runners aboard but failed to score; in the fourth, Meger picked off consecutive base runners to keep the contest scoreless. North Park had the bases loaded in the second when Dan Sabin was hit by a pitch and Mitchell Jordan and Greg Grana each singled, but Blue Jays hurler Trevor Williams got Nate Simons to ground out to end the inning.Â
The Blue Jays finally broke through with four tallies in the fifth on four hits, a walk, and an error before reliever Ryne Sack finally ended the rally. The Vikings responded with two in the bottom of the fifth on consecutive singles by Grana, Simons, and Alec Strachota, and Ray Cekus cracked a two-out single to make it a 4-2 game.
Johns Hopkins extended its lead in the sixth with two more runs on three hits and a walk. Once again North Park replied with a single tally in their half of the sixth when Sabin singled, Jordan walked, Grana singled, and Sabin scored on a wild pitch.
The seventh inning saw ten Blue Jays batters come to the plate with seven crossing the plate. Johns Hopkins rapped out four hits and garnered three walks against four different Viking pitchers for a commanding 13-3 lead. They added one more run in the eighth on three singles, and the Vikings scored their final run in the ninth as Ray Cekus doubled and rode home on a single by Anthony Bragg.
North Park (3-8) closes out its participation at the Gene Cusic Classic with a 2-4 mark; three of their losses came at the hands of teams that had 30 or more victories last year. The Vikings return to action this coming Friday with two non-conference games against Dominican and Aurora.
