CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park Baseball hosted a double header against CCIW foe Carroll university. The Vikings beat the pioneers 23-6 (in 7 innings) game one, and 8-7 (12 innings) in game two.
Game One: North Park 23, Carroll 6
Brandon Leidolph got the starting bid for the Vikings. Carroll was able to take an early lead after a hit by pitch and a walk started the game, as any pitchers inside of the Holmgren Athletic Complex were tasked with pitching into strong winds straight out to center. A balk scored one run and an RBI double by Nick Angus scored the second as Carroll took a 2-0 lead.
North Park answered back immediately when sophomore right fielder Joe Perona crushed his first collegiate homerun to right field. Junior center fielder Alex DiVito followed along, clearing the wall after Perona for back-to-back home runs. Senior second baseman Justin Swanson and junior left fielder Nate Sommerfeld kept the inning going with consecutive hit by pitches. Senior first baseman Bobby Bartlett walked to load the bases and junior shortstop Reece Arakaki picked up a sac-fly RBI to left center. Senior DH Garrett Bragg reached on a fielder's choice before freshman catcher Reyn Matsuzaki reached on error and Sommerfeld came around to score. Sophomore third baseman Carlos Martinez walked before bringing Perona back up to bat, who drew another walk. A Carroll pitching change didn't stop DiVito from legging out a single to shortstop, scoring the Vikings' sixth run of the inning.
Leidolph took the mound in the top of the second and gave up one run on a pair of hits.
Bartlett started the bottom of the second off with a one-out bunt single before Arakaki walked. Bragg then crushed a first-pitch homer to right center, his first Holmgren homer of 2024. Matsuzaki worked a full count before singling through the right side. Martinez followed along with a single into right before Perona advances both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Matsuzaki scored on a wild pitch before DiVito wore one to reach first. He promptly stole second, allowing Martinez to do the same and swipe home. Vikings lead 11-3 through two innings.
Leidolph settled in and tosses a clean frame in the third. The Vikings got right back to work with a Bartlett walk, Arakaki double, and Bragg sac-fly to scratch one run across.
Perona drew a one out walk in the top of the fourth before DiVito cracked his second bomb of the day, sending one into the Chicago River.
The Vikings went on to score six more runs before the end of the inning, taking a 20-3 lead into the top of the fifth.
Leidolph picked up two strikeouts in his final inning of work before turning it over to the bullpen.
Senior Cole Fiorenza knocked a pinch hit single up the middle followed by a Bartlett single through the right side to get some runners on base in the fifth. With two outs, Graham Porter was called on to pinch hit. Porter demolished a 3-1 pitch, clearing the press box for a three-run homer. That 23rd run of the game tied a game-high for all of the CCIW this 2024 season.
Senior lefty Mason Carlisle took the ball in relief for the Vikings, as the Pioneers picked up a pair of runs on a hit and an error.
Senior Ethan Raspolich singled in the sixth before Joe Schaffer ripped a scorching line drive to first base for a hard-luck lineout double play.
Senior lefty Brett Brueske went in to pitch in the top of the 7th, allowing one run before getting the final out of the game via strikeout. North Park cruised in the 23-6 victory, but game two would be a whole lot more interesting.
Game Two: North Park 8, Carroll 7 (12 Inn.)
Sophomore righty Kevin Ayeski started game two on the mound for the Vikings. The Pioneers threatened with bases loaded and one out before Ayeski gave way to junior lefty Brett Ravitz. Carroll picked up an RBI on a groundout before Ravitz secured a strikeout to end the inning.
Perona started the game off with a hit by pitch before being moved over by DiVito. Perona stole third and Swanson scores him with a sacrifice fly to center field, tying things up at 1-1 through the first.
Freshman right hander Luke Glaser relieved Ravitz in the second, tossing a one-two-three inning.
After a scoreless second, Carroll grabbed one run off a solo shot to right field in the top of the third.
The Vikings didn't stay down for long after back-to-back-to-back singles from Raspolich, Perona, and DiVito tie the game up at 2-2. Perona aided this tie in the fourth inning, robbing a would-be home run in right field to keep the momentum with NPU.
Carroll went ahead again, though, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth on a walk and pair of hits. The Pioneers also hit their second homer of the game in the top of the sixth before sophomore Zach Price came in from the bullpen and closed out the inning.
North Park manufactured a run with a Swanson triple off the bottom of the left-center field wall before scoring on a Sommerfeld sac fly.
The Pioneers hit another solo shot int the top of the 7th, taking a 6-3 lead before senior righty Griffin Self finished out the inning on the mound for NPU.
Arakaki gets the offense going in the seventh with a double down left-field line, taking third on a wild pitch and scoring on a throwing error back to the pitcher by the catcher. Vikings still trailed, 6-4, going into the eighth inning.
Carroll managed a run on three hits before Self shut down the inning with a strikeout looking.
Perona singled to start the bottom of the eighth before DiVito advanced him with a grounder to second. Perona stole third and Swanson knocked him in with a ground-rule double to left center. Swanson then stole third, a key moment, because it set the stage for a Sommerfeld sac-fly RBI with a liner to right, bringing the Vikings within one.
With two outs and count leverage, Bragg roped a game-tying missile of a home run to right center, nicely snagged by a fan in the bleachers but, more importantly, tying the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth.
Self picked up an out in the top of the ninth and handed the ball over to Ethan Condit after an infield single to second base. Condit picked up a strikeout before walking the next two batters. With the bases loaded, Condit induced a groundball to get out of the inning.
A single by junior Gio Lucchetto was the only baserunner for the Vikings in the bottom of the ninth as one of the best relievers in the CCIW, Connor Nolen, came in to give the Vikings some pause.
Condit struck out the side in the top of the 10th before the Vikings went down one-two-three in their half of the inning. Condit continued his dominance by picking up another strikeout to open the top of the 11th. A Pio single to left field fell by the wayside as a 5-4-3 double play got NPU out of the inning.
The Vikings went down in order again in their half of the inning, looking for cracks in the armor of the hard-throwing Nolen.
Condit went back out in the 12th, sitting three batters down while picking up another strikeout. He would end the day with 6 K's in his 3.2 innings of shutout relief, surrendering just a single hit.
Lucchetto drew an important walk in the Vikings' half of the 12th before Bartlett moved him over with a sac bunt to third base. With Perona at the plate and Lucchetto now on second, the Carroll outfield filled the alleys and played shallow, hoping to cut down any runs at the plate. However, Perona took advantage of this shift, sending a shot up the left-field line to give Lucchetto a chance to score the winning run. A great throw in from left field by the Pioneers' Eddie Synek had Lucchetto beat at the plate, but an agile dive around the catcher showcased his agility, working his way around the plate for a walkoff win.
North Park (25-10, 13-3 CCIW) hopes to complete a sweep of the Pioneers at Frame Park on Sunday, April 28. Key word is "hope", as the forecast for Sunday looks bleak. The new scheduled first pitch in Waukesha is set for 3:00 PM.
