NILES, Illinois — The Knights baseball team continued its strong start to the season with a convincing 9–3 win over defending Chicagoland Christian Conference co-champions Chicago Hope Academy on Friday in their home opener at Maryville.

Ben Hansen turned in a dominant performance on the mound. The sophomore right-hander went the distance, allowing just four hits and three runs over seven innings while striking out nine and walking two. His command and consistency kept the Knights firmly in front throughout the contest.

On the offensive side, the Knights wasted no time setting the tone early. In the bottom of the first inning, Luke Ahne launched a solo home run to right field to give Northridge an early lead. The offense kept things rolling in the second, where Ahne delivered again with an RBI single to help extend the advantage to 4–0. Northridge added another run in the third inning behind a Tomas Mayas RBI single, steadily building control of the game.

Northridge tallied nine hits, with Ahne, Mayas, Joe Morales, and Jake Krause each recording two-hit performances. Ahne, Hansen, and Krause each drove in a pair of runs, highlighting a balanced and productive day. Defensively, the Knights were flawless, committing no errors.

The maroon and gold will look to carry the momentum into its next conference matchup on Monday as the Knights travel to Wheaton Academy on Monday. They'll be back home on Tuesday for the second half of the back to back with the Warriors.