DUBUQUE, Iowa -- North Park baseball competed in their final non-conference regular season game Tuesday afternoon at the University of Dubuque, falling to the Spartans 11-3.

Spartan starter Payton Rafferty did a masterful job of keeping a recently hot NPU offense relatively quiet, scattering five hits and one earned run in his six innings of work. Meanwhile, Dubuque opened the game's scoring with a four-run first inning, followed by seven more runs between the fourth and eighth innings. North Park reliever Julian Ledezma turned in the top performance on the mound, working an immaculate seventh inning out of the bullpen.

The Vikings' offense broke up the shutout in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Nathan Sommerfeld, plating Reece Arakaki, an infield error, and Garrett Bragg's sac fly. However, this was all the Vikings could get going on Tuesday, dropping the non-conference game 11-3.

What's Next?

North Park (15-22, 9-6 CCIW) hosts their final regular season game of the year on Friday, May 5, against North Central. First pitch at Holmgren is set for 3:00 PM CT.