Covenant News

Hanson Breaks Two School Records in NPU Loss

CHICAGO, IL (March 29, 2004) - Jeff Hanson of Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, California, broke two North Park University (NPU) career pitching records in a 4-3 non-conference baseball loss at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) on Thursday.

Hanson, a senior right-hander, surpassed the career marks for innings pitched (264) and strikeouts (200), both held since 1987 by Pete Zajac. On Thursday, he struck out 11 in eight innings as the Vikings fell to 1-9 overall. Hanson has fanned 27 in 22 innings this spring while posting a 1-2 record. He now has pitched in 42 games at NPU, which puts him in seventh place on the career list.

NPU's Matt Ripley hit a solo home run in the third inning after IIT opened the scoring with an unearned run in the first. Meanwhile, Hanson scattered two hits, struck out seven and walked one in the first five innings.

IIT scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 3-1 lead, but the Vikings narrowed the lead to 3-2 in the top of the eighth as Juan Garcia drove in Greg Ortiz with a single. After IIT scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth, NPU got within one run in the top of the ninth as Justin Lezon's sacrifice fly drove in Kevin Carroll, who had walked to open the inning. But the visitors couldn't push across the tying run and lost their initial game back in Illinois after a nine-game spring break series of games two weeks earlier.

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