SAUGET, Ill. -- North Park Baseball concluded their time at Grizzlies Ballpark winless, dropping a pair of games on Sunday to Webster and UW-Oshkosh.
Against the Titans, senior left hander Brett Ravitz tossed three scoreless innings for NPU while the Vikings got a run on the board in their first trip to the plate on an RBI groundout for sophomore catcher Reyn Matsuzaki.
The Titans scratched two runs in the fourth on Taylor's RBI single to left field and an RBI groundout and duplicated that effort in the sixth inning to pull ahead, 4-1. The Vikings responded in their next at-bats on senior left fielder Nate Sommerfeld's two-run single. NPU would end up taking the lead in the seventh on junior designated hitter Ryan Kawakami's RBI single and a bases loaded walk to Sommerfeld.
Unfortunately, things would unravel from there. The Titans marked three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to take a 10-5 lead.
North Park nearly mounted a ninth-inning comeback thanks to a RBI singles for Sommerfeld and freshman third baseman Taylor Joseph and an RBI groundout from senior shortstop Reece Arakaki, but the Titans would cap the scoring there as NPU fell, 10-8. Sommerfeld was 2-for-4 with four RBI in the loss and Kawakami was 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
Against the Webster Gorloks in the final contest of the four-game trip, the Vikings surrendered seven runs through the first four innings, as a Sommerfeld solo home run was the only offense early for NPU. Despite 11 hits and eight free passes for the Viking offense, 11 runners were left stranded in the loss.
For the NPU pitching staff, Joseph tossed 1.2 innings of hitless, scoreless relief in his first official appearance - Sunday against the Gorloks.
Senior center fielder Alex DiVito finished the weekend 9-for-16 with a double, two home runs, and four stolen bases to guide the Viking offense. Freshman Vinnie Marvucic had five hits on the weekend and Kawakami added eight in three games.
What's Next?
North Park (0-6) looks to reset in some warmer weather at their annual trip to Central Florida. The Vikings first play Buena Vista University (3-1) on Thursday, March 6, at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida. First pitch is set for 5:00 PM ET.
