Chicago, Ill. – Jake Reinhardt continued a stretch of outrageous baseball Sunday, hitting a total of five home runs and equalizing the NPU single-season record for homers in a season with 14, however the North Park baseball team was only able to take one game against Carthage, winning the opener 17-6 (seven innings) and losing game two by a score of 9-7.
Game 1
After Carthage went up 1-0 in the top of the first, Reinhardt made the Firebirds pay right-away, hitting a two-run shot over the right field bleachers to score Logan Peters and put NPU up 2-1. Brandon Davis got a slice of the home run pie in the fourth when he sent a three-run shot for himself over the right field wall to catapult the Vikings into a 5-1 lead. That was quickly followed by a two-RBI single by Peters to extend the lead to 7-1.
North Park decided to follow their four-run fourth with an eight-run fifth, getting runs from Ranko Stevanovic, Justin Woolbright, Bobby Bartlett, Davis, Jim Zay, as well as another home run from Reinhardt – this time a three-run boomstick to straight away center field that scored Justin Swanson and Jared Cantu.
Reinhardt grabbed his seventh RBI on the day in the sixth when he walked with the bases loaded, right after Swanson's RBI-single scored Zay. That Reinhardt walk made it 17-5 NPU, and after starter Ethan Sund allowed one unearned run in the top of the seventh, the Vikings clinched the 17-6 mercy rule victory in only seven innings. Sund finished with the complete game win, four earned runs allowed, 12 hits allowed, and five strikeouts.
Game 2
The Firebird bats were able to find a bit more solid contact in the second game, but Reinhardt continued to soar. It was a solo home run by him in the first that got the scoring started, sealing a Reinhardt homer in every single game of the four-game series with Carthage. The Firebirds were able to vault into the lead with a seven-run fourth to go up 7-1 before NPU answered with Davis and Nick Cecchi each scoring on wild pitches in the fifth. Reinhardt was far from done as he again homered with nobody on in the eighth to make the 8-4 Firebirds. Carthage scored a lone run in the top of the ninth, and after Peters drove home Swanson to make it 9-5 in the bottom of the ninth. Cantu was able to get to third soon after and Reinhardt strolled to the plate with one last chance to sting the Firebirds.
Sting the Firebirds he did as he put an emphatic exclamation on his heroic weekend belting another no-doubter over the fence in left. With that homer Reinhardt became only the second Viking to hit three homers in one game (Zach Deutscher, 2009) and brought his total on the day to five, and his total on the weekend to eight. The comeback was not to be, though, and North Park fell 9-7.
Quick Hits:
- With 14 HRs on the season, Reinhardt ties Steve Zetterlund for most homers in a single season by an NPU player.
- Reinhardt wasn't the only NPU record breaker on the day, Stevanovic is now in a six-way tie for most doubles in a single season with 16.
- Every single North Park starter scored at least one run in game one.
What's Next?
The Vikings (16-17, 11-16 CCIW) will stay at home to take on Elmhurst University on Tuesday, May 4th. First pitch will be at 6:30 PM.
