North Central Wins Weekend Series

The North Central Missouri College baseball team had a productive weekend, taking three-of-four Region 16 games in a series with St. Charles Community College. NCMC picked up a 9-0 win in Trenton Friday, but fell 16-7 in game two. On Saturday in St. Charles, the Pirates closed out the four-game series with a sweep, picking up wins of 12-2 and 8-1.
Friday
NCMC wasted little time in game one on Friday, picking up three runs in the bottom of the first inning. That would be all the Pirates would need, but North Central added a pair of runs in the fourth and four in the fifth.
Zach Cross (3-3) threw a gem for the Pirates, shutting out the visitors over seven innings. Cross allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out eight in the victory.
At the plate, Landon Figg went two-for-three with a double, RBI and three runs scored. Cortlen Austin was two-for-three as well with two RBIs and Cezan Rafaela went one-for-one with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Stephan Vidal was one-for-two with an RBI and three runs scored.
While game one was a dominating pitching performance for the Pirates, one bad inning in game two was the demise of North Central. The Pirates led 4-0 after two innings and 5-0 after four. Entering the sixth inning, the 5-0 lead was still intact, but things changed in the top of the sixth when St. Charles teed off for 13 runs. St. Charles would add three in the seventh. North Central was able to get one run back in both the sixth and seventh, but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates fell by nine runs.
Matt Miles (0-3) took the loss, allowing seven runs, only three earned, through five-plus innings. Miles yielded just three hits and three walks while striking out six, but didn’t get much help from a defense that committed four errors in the game. Cody Wade and Anferney Hoeve each gave up three unearned runs and Justin Riggins allowed three earned runs.
At the plate, the Pirates were paced by Turner Herbek, who was two-for-three with a run scored. Jared Corbett was one-for-four with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Figg also had two RBIs while Smith Kemper and James Brownsberger each scored twice.
Saturday
The Pirates bounced back nicely from the tough loss in Friday’s game two with a sweep on the road against St. Charles on Saturday. In game one, NCMC used a nine-run third inning to grab control of the game early. The Pirates added one in the fourth and two in the fifth, winning by the 10-run rule after five frames, 12-2.
Nolberto Rondon (4-4) picked up the win on the hill, firing all five frames and allowing two unearned runs on two hits and no walks while striking out five.
Offensively, Figg was two-for-three with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Herbek was two-for-two with a triple, an RBI and a run scored and Rafaela went two-for-four with a double and three runs scored. Vidal had a double with two RBIs and a run scored.
Game two saw the Pirates complete the sweep behind another solid pitching performance as Rondon and Gordon Arthaud combined to throw nine innings. Rondon started and threw three perfect innings before Arthaud (1-6) came on to throw six innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits and four walks while striking out seven to pick up the win.
At the plate, the Pirates continued to hit well, tallying 15 hits. Figg and Kemper both went three-for-four with two RBIs and a run scored. Rafaela and Brownsberger were both two-for-five. Rafaela added three runs scored and an RBI and Brownsberger scored twice.
The Pirates moved to 13-19 overall on the season. NCMC also improved to 7-9 in Region 16 play.
North Central will return to the diamond today, weather permitting, facing Wentworth Military Academy on the road in Lexington. The first pitch was scheduled for 1 p.m.
NCMC travels to Ottumwa, IA on Tuesday for a doubleheader with Indian Hills Community College. That doubleheader begins at 2 p.m.