CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park Baseball held on tight during a windy ballgame in Chicago against Elmhurst University on Wednesday afternoon, securing a rocky but important 11-6 victory over the Bluejays.
Sophomore righty Jackson Nuese got the start for North Park and, following a game-opening walk, he sat the next three batters down for a scoreless first.
The Vikings took an early lead, scoring four runs in their first trip to the plate. In a full count, sophomore right fielder Joe Perona laced a double into right field before advancing to third on a wild pitch.
Junior center fielder Alex DiVito drew a walk – one of three on the day for him – and moved up to second base on senior second baseman Justin Swanson's single into left field, scoring Perona.
Next, junior left fielder Nate Sommerfeld scorched a double down the left-field line, bringing DiVito home while putting Swanson on third.
Swanson would come home on a wild pitch before junior shortstop Reece Arakaki smoked a line drive sac fly into right, plating Sommerfeld, for the final run of the inning. NPU led after the first six outs of the game, 4-0.
Following a scoreless second, the Bluejays scored a pair of runs thanks to three free passes and a two-out, two-run single by Freddie March. Meanwhile, the Vikings' bats fell silent as the Bluejays took the lead with two more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
However, things would change again in the seventh. Divito and Swanson both drew walks before a failed pickoff attempt moved the duo into scoring position. Sommerfeld was plunked to load the bases before an RBI single by senior Bobby Bartlett scored DiVito and narrowed the Bluejay lead to 6-5. Next, Arakaki drove his second sac fly of the ball game to tie things up before senior first baseman Garrett Bragg lobbed an RBI single into right-center field, putting NPU up 7-6.
On the mound, North Park righty Zach Price navigated the last 3.2 innings of the game in solid relief effort. The sophomore allowed just two hits in his shutout, fanning a pair of Bluejays.
North Park extended its lead in the eighth inning thanks to more free passes from Elmhurst, an RBI single by Arakaki, and RBI groundout by Bragg.
Looking to put the game away, Price had one out to get against Elmhurst's Freddie March with runners on first and second. He did just that with a swing-and-a-miss, sitting the dangerous hitter down while grabbing his second win of the season.
- Swanson a perfect 3-for-3, drawing a pair of walks while scoring three times
- Sommerfeld 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and a double
- Perona 2-for-5 with a double
- Arakaki drives in three, Bartlett drives in two, Bragg drives in two
- Nuese allows two earned runs and two hits in 4 IP
- Price with the win – 3.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 K's
- Elmhurst's Logan Bryant drove a triple, the lone XBH for the 'Jays
North Park (21-8, 10-1 CCIW) head to Augie Schmidt Field to face the Carthage Firebirds on Friday, April 19. First pitch is set for 4:30 PM in Kenosha.
