Baseball splits doubleheader with Bethel

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Northwestern College baseball team split a nonconference doubleheader against Bethel University on Tuesday, winning the first game 13-12 before losing the second 7-6.

Northwestern started hot in Game 1, scoring eight runs in the first two innings. Kyle Mick (Maplewood, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Maplewood, Minn./Concordia Academy) and Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) each hit home runs in their first at-bats. Mick's two-run homer came in the first, while three runs scored on Nelson's bomb in the second.

After the Eagles added a run in the top of the third inning, Bethel answered with three- and five-run innings of their own, making the score 11-8 in favor of NWC after four full frames. Northwestern followed a two-run fourth with two runs in the fifth, as Mike Sharp (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and Tyler Sage (Duncanville, Texas/Ovilla Christian) (Duncanville, Texas/Olivia Christian) crossed the plate, giving NWC a 13-8 advantage.

All was quiet until the bottom of the seventh and final inning, when Bethel hit two, two-run home runs without an out being recorded to make Eagles fans slightly uneasy in their seats. Tyler Campion (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian) (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) came to the pitcher's mound and shut down the rest of Bethel's offense to record a save and the team's 13-12 win.

Campion continued to pitch into Game 2, but struggled to find his control as Bethel scored five runs on two hits in the first inning. After Bethel and Northwestern traded runs in the second frame, the Eagles put four runs on the board throughout the next two innings. Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) singled to right field to score Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) in the third inning before Sharp, Long and Halstensgard all recorded RBIs in the fourth.

Down 6-5 as the game entered the seventh inning, NWC's Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) doubled to left field, scoring Nelson to tie the game. The Eagles couldn't hold the lead in the bottom half of the inning though, as Bethel scored on a two-out single to win the game 7-6.

Paul Foster (Andover, Minn./St. Francis) (Andover, Minn./St. Francis) pitched two and two-thirds innings in the first game to record the win, while Kevin Votaw (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) took the Game 2 loss after an one and two-thirds innings pitched.

Offensively, Mick blasted two home runs on the day to improve his season total to six. Nelson improved his season's batting average to .464 with a 5-8 performance at the plate that included six RBI and two runs scored. Zach Holsman (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) also had a good day in the batter's box, going a combined 4-8 with three RBI.

Northwestern, now 11-12 on the season, will resume its schedule on Wednesday, April 15 with another nonconference game at Macalester College. That game's first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

In other scheduling news, the Eagles' upcoming three-game series against Bethany Lutheran College has changed times. Friday's game will now be a doubleheader that begins at 2 p.m., while Saturday will feature one nine-inning game starting at 12 p.m.

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Baseball splits doubleheader with Bethel