CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park Baseball split with the Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Friday afternoon – a 10-0 win in game one before a 5-4 heartbreaker in game two. The Vikings now need to beat the Titans in Bloomington tomorrow and get some help from Wheaton in the doubleheader against Millikin.
North Park 10, Illinois Wesleyan 0
Senior left hander Bobby Bartlett continued to lay waste to CCIW hitters in his final regular season start on the hill. In game one, Bartlett pitched all eight innings in his shutout win, allowing just six hits and two walks while punching out four.
North Park put runs on the board in the third inning the gritty way. Senior third baseman Ethan Raspolich reached on an infield single before back-to-back singles outfielder Joe Perona and Alex DiVito loaded the bases. Senior second baseman Justin Swanson was plunked to score Perona before a line drive single by senior first baseman Garrett Bragg pushed the second run across.
The Vikings piled on four runs on five hits in the fourth, with the most significant hit coming off DiVito's bat on a three-run double down the left-field line. North Park finished the run rule victory in the eighth on a two-run oppo double to right field by Bragg as the Vikings cruised in a 10-0 short-game.
Illinois Wesleyan 5, North Park 4
In game two, the Vikings needed to solve the puzzle of Titans' started Dalen Banks, who led the Titans to their game one win over North Park in 2023.
IWU got their first run of the game in their first trip to the plate when Louis Perona cracked a double to right-center field, scoring Tommy Willard who reached on a two-strike, leadoff single.
North Park starter Brandon Leidolph held the Titans scoreless for the four innings, but the Vikings were struggling to break the shutout Banks was working on.
In the sixth, the Titans managed a two-out run when shortstop Justin Gadomski singled before scoring on right fielder Jimmy Martin's double.
However, the Vikings manufactured their own magic in the bottom of the sixth. Perona led the inning off with a walk before swiping second base. Swanson was hit by the first pitch he saw before the duo executed a double steal to move into scoring position. Bartlett pushed the first run across on a single through the right side before Arakaki did the same, tying the game 2-2.
After a pair of scoreless innings for both sides, the Titans showed their best inning of the doubleheader in the ninth.
IWU manufactured three runs off of two hits, a walk, a passed ball, and an infield error to take a 5-2 lead.
With the Titan's top reliever, Will Davidsmeier, on the mound, the Vikings had a tall hill to climb. Things started off easy enough as Bragg was hit by the first pitch of the inning before freshman catcher Reyn Matsuzaki drew a 3-1 walk. Junior Riley Jepsen pinch ran for Matsuzaki at first before an infield error loaded the bases. DiVito chopped an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Bragg, before Davidsmeier rolled through his set position, resulting in the second run of the inning via balk. However, the crafty reliever got the final out via strikeout, letting the Titans hang on to a 5-4 win.
North Park (27-11, 15-4 CCIW) finishes the series with Illinois Wesleyan tomorrow, May 4, out in Bloomington. The Vikings need a win while hoping for a Wheaton win over the CCIW's current top team, Millikin, to keep their CCIW title aspirations alive. First pitch at Horenberger Field is set for 3:00 PM CT.
