Box Score

ST. PAUL – The Northwestern College baseball team won its fourth out of five games on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Macalester College in a single, nine-inning affair.  The Eagles out-hit the Scots 14-2 at Nelson Field en route to snapping Macalester's five-game winning streak.

Northwestern opened up the game's scoring in the fourth inning, as Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) hit a sacrifice fly to score his brother Dan (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony).  The Eagles added their second run in the sixth frame on an Erik Dahl (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) double to center field, scoring Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran).

NWC added additional insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings, and would ultimately need them, as Macalester scored three runs on a hit, a walk and an error in the bottom of the eighth.  Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) relieved Josh Englund (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) in the ninth inning,  striking out two of the three batters he faced to record his fifth save of the season.

Mark Meredith (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) (Golden Valley, Minn./Armstrong) got the nod from Eagles head coach Dave Hieb to start the game on the mound.  Meredith pitched seven strong innings, giving up the three runs while holding the Scots to two hits en route to earning the victory.

At the plate, Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) and Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) each recorded three-hit games.  Dahl and Tyler Sage (Duncanville, Texas/Ovilla Christian) (Duncanville, Texas/Olivia Christian) each also chipped in two hits apiece.

Northwestern, now an even 12-12 on the season, will take a day off before resuming its UMAC schedule on Friday against Bethany Lutheran College.  The Eagles and Vikings will play a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Friday before wrapping up the three-game series with a single, nine-inning contest at 12 p.m. on Saturday.