PICTURED: Tyler Woolbright
2016 North Baseball Photo Gallery
Led by two doubles and four RBI from Tyler Woolbright along with two triples and two RBI from Greg Grana, North Park rolled to a 13-4 victory over North Central College in Game 1 of its CCIW doubleheader Saturday.
North Park fell 9-3 in the second game, but it certainly didn't overshadow the offensive barrage the Vikings showcased in earning their second conference victory of the season, which also snapped a three-game losing skid.
Woolbright went right to work in the first inning when he laced an RBI single left field giving the Vikes a 1-0 lead. North Central responded with a three-run top half of the second, but the NP defense settled in as did its offense and the hosts responded with two runs in the fourth inning off an Alec Strachota RBI double and a Nate Simons run-scoring single through the left side.
Grana came up with the first of his two triples as part of a six-run fifth inning when he smacked the three-bagger to left-center field which allowed both Mitchell Jordan () and Woolbright () to score. An RBI fielder's choice from Caleb Layden, followed by a passed ball and a two-run double from Woolbright then put the Vikings in command at 10-3. North Central added one in the seventh, but North Park plated single tallies in both the bottom half of the seventh and in the eighth to finish off the scoring.
NP starter Jason Meger nearly went the distance as he worked 7 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters and walked only one in improving his overall record to 3-2.
In Game 2, North Park held a 3-2 advantage early after Caleb Layden connected for an RBI triple in the fifth inning, but NCC tallied four runs in the eighth and three in the ninth to salvage a split in the twin bill.
Brent Kessinger suffered the loss on the mound as he went 7 1/ 3innings. He struck out two and walked two.
North Park (8-15, 2-5) looks for the rubber match victory tomorrow when it travels to Naperville for a 1 p.m. single game.
