CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park Baseball did their job on Friday afternoon, earning a 4-1 win over the six seeded Carthage Firebirds to continue CCIW Tournament play.
Senior left hander Bobby Bartlett cut the Firebirds up, posting a season-high 10 strikeouts in his seven-inning, three-hit win. Sophomore Kevin Ayeski closed things out the last two innings to pick up the save with shutout work, fanning one.
Sophomore right fielder Joe Perona led the Vikings at the plate going 3-for-4 with a run scored while sophomore DH Carlos Martinez was perfect on the day, 3-for-3 with an RBI and sac bunt. Perona also swiped three bases while junior center fielder Alex DiVito and senior second baseman Justin Swanson added one each.
The Vikings also manufactured runs in the third off of a bunt single by DiVito, a double steal, sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Garrett Bragg, and an RBI single up the middle by junior left fielder Nate Sommerfeld.
One of the few times that Bartlett got into trouble, Perona robbed a home run for the second time this season. With runners on first and second and two outs, Perona climbed the right field padding to rob pinch hitter Mike Ciesla of a game-tying homer in the sixth.
- Perona 3-for-4 with a run scored and robbed a homer
- Every Viking starter reached base
- Three-hit day for Martinez: 3-for-3 with an RBI
- Bartlett gets the win with a season high 10 K's, 3 hits
- Ayeski with the save: 2IP, 0 R, 2H
- Carthage's Max Cairo 2-of-4 with a solo HR
North Park will now play #2 Millikin on Saturday, May 11, at 2:00 PM. The Vikings will be the home team for game six of the CCIW Tournament.
