DECATUR, Ill. -- North Park Baseball suffered its first sweeping loss of the season on Sunday afternoon at Workman Family Baseball Field, falling to the Millikin Big Blue 15-3 in seven innings.
After a 1-2-3 inning trip to the plate for North Park, Millikin plated the first run of the game in their half of the inning. Leyton Ivers and Ty Cribbett singled before the duo executed on a double steal. Next, Carder Reich brought Ivers home on an RBI groundout to put the Big Blue ahead, 1-0.
North Park responded in the second when junior left fielder Rylan Li plated junior catcher Reyn Matsuzaki, who reached earlier on a single up the middle, with a two-strike knock through the left side. However, the Big Blue would pull ahead 4-1 after a three-hit third that included a pair of doubles.
The Vikings' final push, before the game got away, happened in the third. Sophomore second baseman Kupono Akaka legged out an infield single before senior designated hitter Rylan Kawakami was plunked. Next, senior third baseman Eli Johnson double to left-center to bring in Akaka and Li brought home Kawakami with an RBI groundout. Unfortunately, the Big Blue would bang out 11 hits and as many runs in their next three trips to the plate to short-game North Park, 15-3. The win gave the Big Blue sole possession of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title.
Top Performers
North Park
Millikin
- Brayden Saling with a CG on the mound - 6 H, 3 ER, 3 K 0 BB
- Ty Cribbett - 5-for-5 with 4 runs scored, 4 RBI, and a triple
- Carder Recih - 4-for-5, 6 RBI, 2 doubles
What's Next?
North Park (20-15, 9-7 CCIW) continues on in CCIW play by traveling to Elmhurst (10-25, 4-12) on Wednesday, April 29, to face the Bluejays at Butterfield Park. First pitch is set for 6:00 PM CT.
