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Bluejay Baseball Team Downs North Central in 15
Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. - Mike Goltz (Neenah, Wis./H.S.) lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 15th inning to give Elmhurst a 6-5 win over North Central College in an extra innings marathon.
The game lasted over three and a half hours and featured eight consecutive scoreless innings, including five in extra innings before the Bluejays earned the walk-off victory.
Elmhurst (12-27, 5-16 CCIW) broke the scoreless streak in the bottom of the 15th inning. Pat Meginniss (Elgin/H.S.) led off the inning by sending a high chopper to short that took an awkward bounce past the short stop and into left field. Meginniss stretched the base hit into a double. Tom Rhein (Worth/Brother Rice) was intentionally walked to put runners at first and second. Vince Mathe (Park Ridge/Maine South) then bunted past the charging infield for a base hit to load the bases. North Central brought in an outfielder to play with five infielders, but Goltz lifted a deep fly ball to score Dan Matkovic (Carol Stream/Glenbard North), who had come on to pinch run.
North Central appeared to have taken the lead in the 11th inning when with two outs and a runner at third, Steve Hlavac hit a liner to the wall in right field. After stopping at second, Hlavac was ruled out on an appeal for missing first base, negating the Cardinals' run.
The scoring started in the first when Rhein hit a sacrifice fly to put the Bluejays up 1-0. Elmhurst tacked on a run in the second inning when Goltz smashed a solo homer to left field. North Central cut the lead in half with a run in the top of third, but the Bluejays grabbed a 4-1 lead in the third inning on an RBI double from Jim Deschamps (Glenview/Glenbrook South) and an RBI single from Brett Lilley (Rochester Hills, Mich./H.S.)
North Central scored twice in the fourth and added a run in the fifth to even the score at 4-4. The Cardinals grabbed the lead with a run in the top of the sixth, but the Bluejays quickly evened the score on a Noah Wiza (Brookfield/Riverside-Brookfield) RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.
Scott Perkinson (Elk Grove Village/Elk Grove) finished the game with three hits and a pair of runs scored.
Peter Childs (Lake Forest/H.S.) earned the win in relief, throwing two innings and allowing only one hit. Andrew Auriemme (Addison/Addison Trail) pitched very well in relief, working seven innings and allowing only six hits. He fanned five while not issuing a walk.
Elmhurst closes out the season by playing at Northwestern University on Tuesday, May 6.
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