Covenant News - North Park Baseball Team Ends Season with Loss

Covenant News

North Park Baseball Team Ends Season with Loss

AURORA, IL (May 8, 2002) - North Park University (NPU) finished its 2002 baseball season with an overall record of 11-29 after a 9-4 nonleague loss at Aurora University Tuesday.

Despite the losing record, the Vikings finished strong, winning five of the final nine contests. NPU's 8-13 mark in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) was also its best record in three years. Considering that the team had no seniors in its lineup, the Vikings seem to have a bright future ahead.

Jason Morgan hit .351 for North Park and also paced his team in hits (53), doubles (13), homers (7) and runs batted in (42). Tony Palumbo (.325), Dan Gutierrez (.303), Dion Rubino (.303) and Kevin Carroll (.302) also hit .300 or better for the Vikings.

In the pitching department, Jeff Hanson of Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, California, finished 4-8 on the season after taking the loss against Aurora. The sophomore moved into 11th place on the all-time strikeout list with 130 after fanning 68 in 82 and two-thirds innings this spring.

North Park finished its conference slate by winning two of three against Wheaton College, May 3-4. The Vikings opened the series with a 5-2 win as Hanson pitched his ninth complete game of the season. Hanson struck out nine and a Palumbo sacrifice fly in the fifth inning put NPU ahead for good as the team overcame an early 2-0 deficit.

After being shut out 4-0 in the second game of the series, the Vikings pounded out 21 hits in a 16-9 win over the Thunder. Palumbo had four hits and three runs batted in while Gutierrez went 4-for-5 with four runs. NPU had a six-run fifth inning as Carroll had a three-run double and Morgan added a two-run single.

In other recent games:

May 2 - NPU beat Millikin University 6-4 in a CCIW contest as the Vikings used a sacrifice fly by Carroll and a run-scoring single by Nick Zayas to break a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning. Ben Macaux pitched into the ninth inning for the win and Greg Gober picked up the save by getting the final two outs.
May 1 - Palumbo had three runs batted in during a 9-7 nonleague loss at St. Xavier University.
April 30 - Gober had his first homer of the year and drove in four runs as NPU beat host Trinity International 16-5. Morgan had four hits and four runs batted in while Morgan added four hits.
April 29 - NPU split a conference doubleheader with Millikin, taking the first game 10-4 and losing the second game 7-5. Hanson won the opener as Morgan hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer.

For more information on North Park's athletic programs, call Director of Sports Information Chris Nelson at 773-244-5670.

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