TUCSON, Ariz. – North Central University (NCU) was back in action with a doubleheader this afternoon. In the first game the Rams battled it out with the Vikings of Valley City State University (VCSU) in a game that resemble that of a football score. The Rams fell behind early but made a late game surge to close the gap, but the Viking's offense was too much as they defeated the Rams by a score of 25-15. The Rams were pitted against the Tigers of DWU for the second time in the week in game number two of the doubleheader. NCU out hit the Tigers for the second straight time, but could not turn that into a victory as they fell to the 11-5 to the Tigers. 

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Headed into today's contest Senior Cory Kukkola was tied atop the list of All-Time Hit Leaders for the NCU Baseball program. In the 5th inning of the first ballgame, Kukkola connected on a ball that landed in the outfield for a base knock. That hit moved him into sole possession of that title, etching his name in the program record books, with much of his senior campaign yet to be played. As an added bonus to the newly found title, the Fountain Hills, Arizona, native, was able to achieve this accomplishment in his home state. 
 

GAME ONE RECAP
Freshman Caiden Gelowicz (L,0-1) received the starting nod for the first time in his young career. The rookie struggled to find much momentum against the Viking's hitters as he gave up 4 earned runs within the first three innings, knocking him out of the contest after just 2.1 innings. On the flip side for the Rams, they could not quite string hits together to begin the contest. Brandon Scott connected on a shot that landed beyond the fence in the bottom of the first inning, but NCU was unable to find much offense outside of that one hit early on in the ball game.

After scoring 10 runs in the first four innings VSCU exploded for 8 runs in the sixth inning to open their lead up to 13 runs, putting them on the verge of ending the game early. With their backs against the wall the Rams rallied to score 4 in the bottom of the 7th to extend the contest. The Rams eventually closed the gap to as close as four, but could never find an answer for the VCSU batters. The Vikings continued to muster up hit after hit leading to their eventual 25-15 victory over the Rams. The two clubs combined for 39 total hits in the contest. 

GAME TWO RECAP
Dakota Wesleyan got their bats moving right from the start of the first pitch. DWU batters got a hold of Ram's starter, Bryce Riege (L,0-1), to the tune of 7 earned runs (9 total) off of 10 hits in 5.0 innings pitched. NCU was un able to manufacture much offense, until they strung together a run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings. The biggest hit in that stretch came off of the bat of Steven De Silva, he sent a rocket over the left-field wall in the 5th inning to make it a 9-3 ball-game.

After adding two more runs to their lead, the Rams held the Tigers scoreless the final three innings, but it wasn't enough for the Rams to fight their way back. NCU would eventually fall to the Tigers by a score of 11-5. 

Next Up
North Central will battle with Carrol University tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. in Tucson, Arizona for the final contest of their spring trip. 


MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Justin Brown at 612-343-3539 or email Jdbrown@northcentral.edu.