KENOSHA, Wis. -- North Park baseball earned a hard-fought 14-11 win over Carthage on Saturday afternoon at Augie Schmidt Field, powered by a historic performance from sophomore shortstop Taylor Joseph, who hit for the cycle and drove in four runs.
The Vikings struck first in the opening inning when senior center fielder Joe Perona singled and moved to second on a wild pitch before Joseph lined an RBI single to center to give North Park a quick 1–0 lead. The Vikings added on in the second, capitalizing on a passed ball and an RBI infield single from sophomore second baseman Kupono Akaka, followed by Joseph's run-scoring triple into the right-center gap, building a 3-0 lead.
Carthage responded with force in the bottom of the third. After a leadoff single by AJ Gaca, Dylan Ston drove in a run with a hit down the left-field line. Moments later, Zander Tubbs launched a three-run homer to left, flipping the score to 4-3. North Park reclaimed momentum in the fourth when Akaka singled and Joseph crushed a two-run, no-doubt homer over the left-field wall, his third different extra-base hit of the day, to make it 5-4 Vikings.
Carthage countered in the fifth, scoring twice on a pair of singles and a throwing error, with Ston once again providing the RBI swing that pushed the Firebirds ahead 6-5. In the sixth, North Park answered when Perona reached on a hit-by-pitch and sophomore first baseman John Greenwood delivered a sharp two-run single up the middle, giving the Vikings a 7-6 lead. Carthage surged right back in the bottom half, tying the game on a single from Caden Meyer and then taking an 8-7 lead on Jimmy Herget's sacrifice fly.
The turning point arrived in the seventh inning. After two hit-by-pitches and an error allowed sophomore right fielder Vinnie Marvucic to score, Perona came through with a towering three-run homer that he knew was out right off the bat, soaring into the tree line as North Park pushed ahead 11-8. Joseph then doubled to center, completing his cycle, and Greenwood followed with an RBI double, extending the lead to 12-8.
Carthage kept applying pressure late. In the eighth, Ston delivered another RBI single and Tubbs added a two-run double to right-center, cutting the deficit to 13-11. But the Vikings tacked on a key insurance run in the ninth on Marvucic's RBI single. Senior closer Ethan Condit handled the bottom half of the inning, stranding two runners to secure his fourth save, including third for the week.
Joseph's cycle, single in the first, triple in the second, home run in the fourth, and double in the seventh, highlighted a dominant offensive showing as North Park finished with 17 hits in the victory.
Top Performers
North Park
- Taylor Joseph (SS): 4–5, cycle, 4 RBI, 2 R
- Joe Perona (CF): 2–5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, SB
- John Greenwood (1B): 3–6, 3 RBI, R, 2B
- Vinnie Marvucic (RF): 2–4, RBI, 2 HBP, 2 R
- Rylan Kawakami (DH): 2–5, R
- Ethan Condit (P): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, Save
Carthage
- Dylan Ston (LF): 3–5, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Zander Tubbs (RF): 2–5, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2B
- Michael Ossenfort (SS): 3–5, 3 R
- Aj Gaca (C): 3–5, 2 R, 2B
- Caden Meyer (2B): 2–4, RBI, 2 R
What's Next?
North Park (11-6, 3-0 CCIW) steps out of conference action on Monday, March 23, for an away game at Dominican University (6-5). First pitch at Wintrust Field in Schaumburg, Illinois is set for 5:00 PM CT.
