St. Bonifacuis, MN -- Today, the North Central University (NCU) baseball team continued their series against the Crown College (CC) Polars. Yesterday, the Rams got off to a slow start in their series as they were run-ruled with a 25-2 final score in game one. Today, they fell to the Polars with a final score of 14-13 in an 11-inning, 4-hour, heart breaker after completing a 9-run comeback. Despite a promising late-game surge in game two, they ultimately would be swept by a score of 10-4. The doubleheader showcased resilience and fight from the Rams, with several players stepping up offensively in both games.

Game 1: NCU 13, CC 14 (11 inn.)

North Central opened the scoring early and rallied late in a rollercoaster Game 1. After falling behind 12-3 through five innings, the Rams mounted a massive comeback in the seventh and eighth, scoring 10 runs to take the lead at 13-12. The comeback was fueled by clutch base running, smart at-bats, and a couple of timely defensive miscues from the Polars. Down 12-3 in the seventh, the Rams sparked a furious comeback with a six-run inning. Sophomore Caleb Alfaro drove in the first run with an RBI single, followed by a series of miscues that brought home three unearned runs. Willy Cruz added a sacrifice fly, and Nicholas Vieau capped the inning with an RBI single to cut the deficit to just three runs. In the eighth, Teagan Burch walked and eventually stole home, while Alfaro and Jonah Taylor both reached and scored. Pinch hitter Abiram Terron De Jesus delivered the clutch hit, an RBI single that scored two and gave North Central a 13-12 lead. On the mound, senior Cameron Pittman was a bright spot, holding Crown scoreless over the 7th, 8th, and 10th innings, making way for the Rams to mount their offensive comeback. With a narrow one-run lead in the bottom of the 9th, Crown came up with a clutch RBI double to force extra innings. NCU went cold offensively, recording zero hits in the tenth and eleventh innings. Unfortunately, an 11th-inning wild pitch proved to be the deciding factor in a narrow 14-13 loss.

Game 2. NCU 4, CC 10

In the second game of the day, the Rams ran into a tough opposing starter and were held scoreless through the first five innings. Despite falling behind 6-0, NCU showed no quit. The sixth inning featured a rally where the Rams strung together four runs, kicked off by an RBI single from junior Jacobi Woodfin, who later came around to score. Junior Dawson Barson followed with another RBI knock, and senior Teagan Burch added to the surge with an RBI single of his own. A defensive error allowed a fourth run to cross, bringing the Rams back within striking distance trailing 6-4. While the Rams had momentum, Crown responded with runs in each of their next three at-bats to widen the gap. Jonah Taylor and Willy Cruz each had multi-hit games, with Taylor reaching base three times and Cruz adding a stolen base. Graduate student Nate Boyer worked a walk and helped create pressure on the base paths. On the mound, senior Michael Newsome battled through five innings but was tagged with the loss. Junior Tim Yohan Dixon and sophomore Jacob Garcia came on in relief. NCU lost 10-4

Top Performers:

• Jonah Taylor (Jr., CF): 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs, HR, SB (Game 1), 2 more hits in Game 2
• Caleb Alfaro (So., LF): 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 RBIs across both games
• Cameron Pittman (Sr., LHP): 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 SO, shut down Crown in crucial late innings of Game 1

Looking Ahead:

The Rams will look to their next series as they face the Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) Vikings. Their series will kick off on Friday, April 4th at 3:00 PM.

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on baseball and all things NCU Athletics.