NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The North Park University baseball team had the deck stacked against them to open up the 2022 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. Against 15th-ranked and tournament top seed North Central College, the Vikings beat NCC at the Cardinals' home field, 7-1, thanks to excellent two-way play from senior Logan Peters.
Peters, who essentially had only one true start on the mound this season, cruised in six innings of work. The lefty allowed only a pair of hits, struck out three, and surrendered just two walks in his shutout playoff start.
Here's how the Vikings rattled off a six-run fifth inning:
Garrett Bragg was hit by a pitch before scoring on an infield error during Jim Zay's sacrifice bunt, who moved to second on the wild throw. Next, also attempting a sac bunt, Reece Arakaki brought Zay home on a wild throw from the NCC pitcher and also moved up to second base. Continuing to take advantage of sloppy play from the Cardinals, Arakaki waltzed to third on a wild pitch.
Now with two outs, Justin Swanson singled home Arakaki and moved up to second when Ranko Stevanovic drew a walk. Next, with the biggest and loudest swing of the game, Peters drilled the third pitch of the at-bat over the right field wall to put North Park up in a big way, 6-0.
The Vikings added another run in the seventh when when Bobby Bartlett singled up the middle and scored on an error by two errors in one failed pickoff attempt.
Meanwhile, Peters was lifted for one of the best relief pitchers in the league – Frank Kalemba. Kalemba navigated three innings of work and allowed only one run from four hits, striking out three, to earn the save and tournament-opening upset of North Central.
Quick Hits:
- Bartlett, Swanson, Stevanovic, and Peters all with a hit
- Peters a force at the plate and on the mound
- 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H 3 K's while slugging a three-run homer
- Kalemba stifles hitters to pick up the save – 3 IP, 3 K's, 4 H, 1 R
- Cardinals make four errors while Vikings perfect in the field
- All seven of NPU's runs were unearned
What's Next?
On Thursday, May 12, no. 6 seed North Park will play the loser of the Augustana (no. 4 seed)/Wheaton (no. 3 seed) game. First pitch will be at 3pm back at Zimmerman Stadium.
