CHICAGO, Ill. – A big fifth inning propelled the North Park University baseball team to a 7-2 win over the Elmhurst University Bluejays on Sunday afternoon.
Through four innings, neither team could get much going as Bluejay starter J.D McKnight and Viking starter Bobby Bartlett kept the game scoreless. The lone hit arrived on a hard-hit ball off the bat of North Park first baseman Justin Woolbright.
After a one-two-three inning for Bartlett in the top of the fifth, the Vikings broke through in their next trip to the plate. With two outs, senior center fielder Jared Cantu walked and swiped second base. Junior right fielder Logan Peters would bring Cantu home with a single and, following a pitching change, senior shortstop Jake Reinhardt plated Peters with a single of his own. Next, Reinhardt moved up on a balk before senior third baseman Ranko Stevanovic drove an RBI single into right field. The Vikings capped their two-out onslaught with an exclamation point as Woolbright rattled the bleachers in right-center field for his second homer of the season.
The Vikings would tack on two more runs when freshman catcher Conner Woods brought home freshman second baseman Justin Swanson on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and Woolbright added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to put North Park up, 7-1.
Bartlett nearly went the distance on the mound, getting an out in the ninth inning before giving way to Woolbright. Woolbright finished what Bartlett started, allowing an insignificant single to right field before the Vikings turned a 6-4-3 double play to take the 7-2 win.
FINAL: North Park 7, Elmhurst 2
Quick Hits:
- Bartlett tossed 8.1 innings, allowing two runs and just six hits
- Woolbright 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a homer
- Reinhardt 2-for-4 with another triple, currently leads the nation with seven
- Cantu and Swanson each swiped a base
What's Next?
North Park (11-13, 6-13 CCIW) will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin to play a single game against Carthage College on Tuesday, April 20. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
