Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MOLINE, Ill. – League-leading North Central swept a doubleheader from Augustana Wednesday at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field. The Cardinals won the opener 3-1 behind a strong pitching effort from Russell Hoh and pounded out 13 hits to take the nightcap 10-4. The Vikings dropped to 20-12 on the season and 8-9 in the CCIW, while the visitors improved to 19-9 overall and 14-2 in the conference.
 
Coach Greg Wallace's club is back in action on Saturday, April 28, hosting North Park in a key twin bill at Swanson/Brunner beginning at 1:00 p.m.
 
NORTH CENTRAL 3, AUGUSTANA 1
 
Each team tallied a run in the first inning of the opener. Augustana starter Vinny Rotunno (Lakes HS, Lindenhurst, Ill.) hit Eric Outlaw with one out. Michael Mateja's double to right moved Outlaw to third and he scored on Mike Wisz's sacrifice fly to give North Central a 1-0 lead. Carter Amundsen (Sheboygan South HS, Sheboygan, Wis.) had a leadoff single in the bottom half, moved to third on Gunnar Haskins' (Alleman HS, Moline, Ill.) single to right and scored the tying run on Jake Huber's (Lockport HS, Homer Glen, Ill.) sacrifice fly to left.
 
Both pitchers blanked the opposition until the fourth, when the Cardinals plated two runs. John Carmody had a leadoff single and scored on Rob Marinec's triple to left center. Marinec then made it 3-1 when he scored on a Colin Weilbacher sacrifice fly to center.
 
That would be all of the scoring in the contest. Hoh lasted 7 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and one run, walking one and fanning four. He picked up his fourth win of the season against no losses. Nick Rogalski threw a perfect inning and a third to earn his fourth save.
 
Rotunno scattered eight hits and walked just one in a 6 1/3 inning stint. He fanned three and suffered his fourth loss in six decisions this year. Senior Mitch Malone (Minooka HS, Minooka, Ill.) threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings out of the pen.
 
NORTH CENTRAL 10, AUGUSTANA 4
 
A six-run Cardinal fourth doomed the Vikings in the nightcap.
 
After North Central went ahead with a run off Connor Berek (Riverside-Brookfield HS, Brookfield, Ill.) in the top of the third, the Vikings answered with three in the bottom half. Walks to Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.), Haskins and Matt Loeffl (Grayslake Central HS, Grayslake, Ill.) loaded the bases and senior John Moraski (Kewanee HS, Kewanee, Ill.) hit a screaming double off the left field wall to score all three runners and give the hosts a 3-1 advantage.
 
The visitors came right back with their big inning in the top of the fourth. Matt Sutherland's two-run double tied it at 3-3. Jeremy Quade, Wisz and Marinec all singled in runs and another scored on an Augustana error. When freshman John Hayes (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) finally got the final out of the inning, the Cardinals led 7-3.
 
Senior Jack Hallmark (Cherry Creek HS, Englewood, Colo.) doubled to left center and scored in the bottom of the fourth, but North Central answered again, getting three in the fifth. Mateja drove in a run with an infield hit and the other two runs were aided by errors.
 
The scoring stopped suddenly, with both bullpens putting up goose eggs over the final four innings. Jason Shanner and John Clifford worked for the Cardinals, while freshmen Sam Cregan (Air Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Matt Simpson (Geneva HS, Geneva, Ill.) were toiling for the Vikings.
 
Shanner gave up one run in 4 2/3 innings to earn his first win in four decisions this year. Berek lasted 3 2/3 and took his first loss after a pair of wins. Cregan allowed just one baserunner in three innings of relief.
 
Hallmark and junior Ryan Granneman each went 2-for-3 for Augustana. Sutherland paced the North Central attack with a 3-for-5 performance.