CAROL STREAM, Ill. – North Park Baseball successfully completed a come-from-behind win on Good Friday, besting the Wheaton Thunder 8-7 at Lee Pfund Stadium.

North Park threatened in the first inning with two outs, thanks to three walks and a stolen base by junior outfielder Nate Sommerfeld. However, a strikeout ended the inning.

Wheaton second baseman Kyle Wu provided the only hit for either side through the next two innings, as Thunder Starter Alex Bagley and Viking starter Kevin Ayeski traded zeros until the bottom of the third.

The Thunder opened their half of the third with a single by Noah Yi before getting runners on the corners after a sac bunt and fielding error. A sac fly by Jacob Snyder brought home Yi, giving the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Wheaton broke through in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on as many hits. The biggest knock was off the bat of Matt Nelson, who cracked a two-run double to left-center.

North Park got some runs back in the top of the fifth, though. Senior third baseman Ethan Raspolich drew a walk before swiping second on a delayed steal. After a flyout, junior center fielder Alex DiVito was plunked to put runners on first and second. Sommerfeld was also hit two batters later, loaded the bases for senior first baseman Bobby Bartlett. Now with two outs, the lefty cracked a sharp double to right-center field, clearing the bases and giving the Vikings a spark to now trail just 5-3.

Wu tacked on another run for the Thunder on an RBI single in their half of the fifth and an RBI single by Snyder established a 7-3 lead going to the top of the seventh.

With two outs and following free passes to DiVito and Sommerfeld via walk and hit by pitch, Bartlett lined another single to center, loaded the bases for junior shortstop Reece Arakaki. Arakaki's patience paid off, drawing a bases loaded walk. Next, sophomore designated hitter Carlos Martinez drove an oppo double to right field, plating Bartlett and Sommerfeld, while cutting the deficit to just one run: 7-6 Thunder.

Meanwhile on the mound for the Vikings, sophomore right hander Ethan Condit came in from the bullpen and continued to be the rock of the NPU pitching staff. Condit relieved sophomore righty Jackson Nuese in the sixth, allowing an inherited runner to score before locking things down the rest of the way.

In the top of the eighth, freshman Rylan Li came off the bench to rip a crisp single into right fielder before moving up on a wild pitch.

Following a runner-advancing groundout by sophomore outfielder Joe Perona, DiVito lobbed a single-turned-hustle-triple into right field when a diving attempt failed, tying the game at 7-7.

Not long after, DiVito would score on a wild pitch to put NPU up 8-7.

Condit wiped the Thunder out in the next two innings, allowing just a single in the eighth while getting three sets of two's with two flyouts, strikeouts, and groundouts for his second win of the season.

North Park completed the comeback victory, earning the 8-7 win at Lee Pfund Stadium.

• Bartlett with his best game of the season at the plate: 3-for-4 with a three-run double and a walk
• Condit works four innings, allowing no earned runs and just three hits, while punching out three to earn the win
• Wheaton's Wu goes 2-for-2 with a stolen base
• DiVito triples and scores three runs
• Sommerfeld hit twice and scored twice
• Stolen bases for Perona, Sommerfeld, and Raspolich

North Park (12-7, 1-0 CCIW) will take Easter weekend off of competition before returning to the Holmgren Athletic Complex on Monday, April 1, for a home game against North Central. First pitch in Chicago is set for 3:00 PM.