How to Respond...

Dropping the series finale against Wheaton, having another CCIW opponent celebrate a walk-off homerun at The Zimm, over our homeplate, (They were the home team as their field in under renovation.) and having emotions get the best of us could have been the beginnings of an end for our Cardinal team this season....but no. The Cardinal Men responded by coming out today and finishing a sweep over the Bluejays of Elmhurst, winning by a score of 7-2.

How well did we respond? Well, our 1-5 hitters (Scott, Burke, Abraham, Corrigan, and Turek) went a combined 11-19, a .579 clip. The bottom of the Cardinal order (Hagensee, Daniels, Ross, and Khoury) strung QABs (quality at-bats) together and hit the ball hard the other way while driving in runs. Pitchers Michael McGrath and Tim Riggenbach threw strikes and were extremely effective. After walking the lead-off batter of the game, giving up a 2-run homerun to the next batter and hitting the three hole with a pitch, starting pitcher Michael McGrath settled in and stepped up to deliver a masterful performance. At one point McGrath retired 9 straight Bluejays and finished his 8 strong innings by retiring 19 of the last 23 he faced. The Cardinal defense was on its game as well, especially the middle infielders (Burke and Khoury) and the outfield crew (Hagensee, Ross, and Scott, left to right).

I think it says alot about our team when the men respond like this. Sure,tempers will flare, emotions run high, pressure situations push players to the edge. However, when it is time to respond---time to come together and get the job done and execute, we are proving to ourselves that we are capable of success.

Heading into the last two weekend series against CCIW foes Augustana and defending DIII National Champions, Illinois Wesleyan, the Cardinals are exactly where we want to be...in the driver's seat, tied atop the CCIW at 11-4.

Win Over Wheaton = Huge

The 4-2 win over Wheaton College is a huge stepping stone for our team. A very good team, Wheaton presented us with a very competitive Game 1 of this series. Senior pitcher Nate Arenson stepped up and delivered a complete game win, walking only two. Matt Burke, Brennan Hagensee, and Alex Khoury also seemed to come to the park to play especially hard today. Burkey was a force at the plate and on the base paths. Hags showed off his defensive skills by gunning down a runner, who would have been a lead-off double. A.K. is playing like a seasoned veteran even though he has only started a handful of games at the SS position at the college level. We know, however, that we have two big games against Wheaton this Saturday. Anything less then a series win will be unacceptable.



A shout out has to go out to the Cardinal Men for taking advantage of the "freebies" that the other squads we are playing are offering us. Too often teams do not take advantage of the opportunities they earn by placing pressure on the defense and the opponent's pitching. Over the last four games (1 vs. Millikin, 2 vs. Elmhurst, and 1 vs. Wheaton) the Cardinals have scored 38 total runs; 8, 15, 11, and 4 respectively. Of those 38 runs 19 of them have been scored by Cardinal baserunners that have reached base via a walk, error, or hit by pitch. 18 of 39...50%! Our record over the last four games is 2-2 instead of 4-0 if we do not take advantage of the extra outs we are earning. To use a term from a commentator of the hated White Sox..."Don't stop now boys!"

National College Athlete Honor Society...

Congratulations go out to Blake Schmucker, a junior infielder from Olney, IL for being inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society. In order to be considered for induction, student-athletes must maintain a minimum of a 3.4 cumulative grade-point average following their seventh term in school and received a varsity letter in their particular sport. Great Job Schmucker!

Elmhurst series Moved to Sun/Mon...

Today's DH at Elmhurst has been canceled due to weather. We will play the DH at Elmhurst's Butterfield Park on Sunday starting at 12 noon. The series finale will be played at the Zimm on Monday at 3pm. Obviously, we are disappointed to be canceled. We were geared up and ready to play today. Also, the weather has ruined what was sure to be a cool environment with plans for the Alumni BBQ and game as well as the kick-off of the baseball team's sale of apparel to raise money for disaster relief in Japan, all of which were to be held on Sunday. Hopefully, the weather cooperates for the remainder of the year.

Important Info About Alumni Day...

Due to potential inclement weather, this weekend's Baseball Alumni Day may have to be cancelled. The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Elmhurst College on Saturday and at North Central on Sunday.

• If Saturday's game is postponed because of inclement weather, then the Cardinals will travel to Elmhurst on Sunday and Baseball Alumni Day will be cancelled.
• If the weather holds out and the Cardinals play at Elmhurst on Saturday, then Sunday's activities will go on as scheduled.

Please visit the Cardinal athletics website at northcentralcardinals.com for schedule updates.

NCC Cardinal Baseball Alumni Game

Our amazing Alumni Relations Team have put together a great opportunity for players of the past and present to come together. Please see the message below from Alumni Relations: Cardinal Alums Dom Sabatino '08, Coach Heller '09, Chris Toy '09 You're invited to Baseball Alumni Day on Sunday, April 17 at Zimmerman Stadium. Join fellow alumni and friends for a pre-game barbecue at 12 noon, watch the Cardinal Men's Baseball team take on Elmhurst College at 1 p.m., then play in the alumni game following the men's game. RSVP to Coach Fitz at 630-637-5512 or jfitzgerald@noctrl.edu.    Visit northcentralcardinals.com/baseball for the schedule and updates throughout the season!

With Cardinal Pride, Adrian, Mary, Bonnie and Meredith The Alumni Relations Team

People You Should Get to Know....

#25 Joe Turek

Junior 1B/DH, Joe Turek, chimes into "A Bloop & A Blast"...enjoy!
 

We all know that following this weekend's series vs. Carthage, perennial CCIW powerhouse, that it could have easily been a sweep 3-0 instead of losing the series 2-1. Sweeping them would have definitely been a statement but that is not the case. The mistakes that were made this weekend are ones that can be fixed with hard work on the practice field the next couple days. With a mid-week conference game and another weekend series on tap this week, it gives us a great opportunity to get right back on the right track. Coach Fitz always says that that is the best part about the game of baseball---you get to go out the next day and play again, and forget about what may have happened the previous few days.

C. Brown, M. Zemke, J. Turek, N. DeWolf

"Vandy" Vanderwall (Photo by S. Woltman)

There are positives that came out of this weekend's big series vs. Carthage and I think the biggest thing is the play by some of the guys who may not see their name on the everyday lineup. These guys put in the same effort as the starters do, if not more. To see these guys come in and succeed in different situations shows that we can call on them at any point and have the confidence that they are going to get the job done. Travis Vanderwall made his case to become a mainstay in the rotation with a 9-inning effort in his Game 2 start. "Vandy," a freshman, making only his 2nd conference start, showed that he has what it takes to take on anyone on any given day. Matt Zemke, another freshman, continues to show that he can make a difference on the basepaths with his speed late in the game. "Z" is definitely a better choice on the bases when we need some speed in the late innings, instead of someone like myself. Freshman infielder Alex Khoury came in this weekend and displayed that his glove is definitely ready whenever we made need him. "A.K." almost made a ridiculous, full extenstion, diving catch in the late innings of Game 2. Even though the ball grazed his glove and went into left field, his effort on that play alone showed everyone on the team that we can count on him. 

 

                                                                                                                                  

Brennan "Hags" Hagensee

Alex "A.K." Khoury

A special shoutout goes to senior Brennan Hagensee. Hags puts in the swings during practice and has been waiting his turn to get into the lineup again. He came in as a pinch hitter in a big situation in Game 2 and absolutely smoked a ball right at the left fielder. That ball was probably one of the hardest balls hit by our team all year. Following that quality at-bat, Hags was in the lineup for Game 3 and had himself a great day. Its great to see Hags on the field being a difference maker.

There is plenty of stuff for our team to work on as the season moves forward, and they will get fixed. For now, it is great to see the depth that our team has. We all knew that these guys can get the job done, but its added confidence when we see production on gameday.

By the way, it was awesome to see the turnout at the "Zimm" yesterday. The "Zimm" was alive and well, and we would all like to keep seeing everyone out there!

Joe T.

The PUP Chronicles with Peter “Romo” Romanello

Since receiving the news of my season ending injury, I decided to add a little different vantage point to “A Bloop & A Blast” with my very own “PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) Chronicles.” Enjoy!

It could be one of the hardest things in the world to overcome when you hear that you can no longer play the sport you love for a full season.  Ever since last Tuesday, March 29^th, I tore my UCL ligament in my left thumb sidelining me for 8 weeks.  I knew I would be in for one of the toughest times of my life when I sat in the dugout and realized that I couldn’t be on the field with my teammates. But I soon realized that I wasn’t going through this alone…

Matt "Simsky" Zemke, Joe "Joey T" Turek, and the PUP, Peter "Romo" Romanello

As cliché as this sounds, I never knew I would ever consider a baseball team a family, until now.  I always thought it only happened in sport movies or stories like that, but it finally presented itself to me.  My teammates are my best friends and I will never forget the support they have given me to help me pull through this difficult time. I know it might be tedious when they need to open a bottle, rip open a bag of chips, or carry a plate for me at the dining hall, but those little things made it clear that they were true teammates, friends, and family.   I will continue to help them succeed on the field by doing anything I can; whether it’s throwing batting practice, helping out with defensive plays, or just cheering them on.

When the schedule hits conference games, it means one thing: business.  The CCIW is one of the best D3 conferences in the country and we have a goal of defending our conference title this year.  We led off conference play this past weekend against North Park.  I would have to say North Park is the one school that really gets our blood boiling the most. They are pros at cheering and hooting from their dugout.  It is unanimous around our team that there is no love lost between us and NPU and that they are our biggest rivals.  So I cannot explain in words how good it felt shaking hands and looking them in the eyes knowing we won the series. 

The bus ride home was great, and always is better when you win a series, and it’s exciting to see people really get along on the team.  I can already tell that our team this year has a very tight bond and it will definitely help when we get deeper into our conference schedule and people begin to stress.  I believe we have grown a lot as a team within these past few weeks and I think we are ready to face Millikin and show that we mean business.

Off the field, we like to get together as a team as much as we can.  Now since we are college students and don’t have the funds that we would like, we take joy in the little things in life. For example, the team loves when K-Man (short for Kaufman dining hall) serves Coach Bogan’s favorite food, “Beef Boganoff.”  When K-Man is having an “off day” and offering to many healthy options---carrot slices, green beans, and rice pilaf---we hit up the Cage for the good burgers and quesadillas.  After the meals, we usually get a good session of video games in. 

 

**On a side note, Andrew Wulbecker (who is one of my roommates and is now a student coach) has been challenging me in NCAA Baseball ’06 on PS2 and I actually beat him 2 games out of 3, and this is with one good thumb and the other thumb in a cast.  So just a little jab there at him trying to take advantage of my injury.*** 

But anyways, it should be a fun week of games and practices, and hopefully it warms up so we can see you all out there! Here We Go!

Romo

Walking Off With a CCIW Series Win...

Matt "Burky" Burke

The #9 hitter supplied the heroics for the NCC diamondmen in the first game of the opening series of CCIW play of 2011. With the scored tied in the bottom of the 9th and a man on, senior second basemen, Matt Burke lifted a 2-2 pitch high into the sky and over the left field fence to chalk up the first CCIW victory for the Cardinals on the season---NCC 14, North Park 12. I can only hope for people to understand the joy that comes to my heart when watching our Cardinal team jumping around the home plate area, tossing helmets and pounding the heck out of the homerun hero...there is no better feeling in sports than getting greeted at home plate by the hammering hands of your fellow teammates...WOW, that gets me pumped! 

The Cards split Saturday's two games and then traveled to North Park on Sunday to win a nail-biter 12-11. This series was great for the Cards. We really showed that we have learned how to compete, fight for runs, and punch back even when we get punched in the face. North Park is a very talented team and I am certain that we will see them later in the season. For now, it was a great series win, but we cannot rest for too long. Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 5th) the Big Blue from Millikin, another CCIW foe, travels up for two games at the Zimm---first pitch set for 12:30.