NWC handed pair of losses

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

By Kristie Bicket

MORRIS, Minn.—The success found in the previous day's competition against the University of Minnesota, Morris was a one-day deal as the Northwestern College baseball team took a pair of losses from the Cougars with final scores of 14-9 and 6-3.

Morris took a quick lead in Game 1 as it rallied in seven runs in the first two innings. In the third, two straight singles by Mark Sharp (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and Tyler Sage (Duncanville, Texas/Ovilla Christian) (Duncanville, Texas/Ovilla Christian) put runners in scoring position. Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) and Eric Dahl's (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) RBI singles put the first two runs on the board for the Eagles.

With one runner at first and two outs, NWC went on a four-hit rally in the fourth frame, including a 2 RBI double from Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) and Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran)'s (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) RBI single. Unable to keep the Cougars from scoring in the first four innings gave Morris a 14-5 advantage heading into the fifth.

Northwestern's offense kept battling as it gathered four more runs on five hits, including RBI from Sharp, Long, and Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony). The last two frames saw no runs for either team, finishing the game 14-9.

The Eagle's outhit their opponents 15-14 while Northwestern held the lone error in the game. Offensively, Long went 2-4 while Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) was 3-5 at the plate, each recording 3 RBI. Sage and Sharp also had two hits apiece.

Time on the mound was shared by four NWC pitchers. Starting the game was Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) who allowed eight earned runs in two frames. After little improvement by two other pitchers, Andy Borud (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) closed the last two and two-thirds innings giving up no earned runs and striking out four batters.

Although unsuccessful to grab a win, Game 2 looked a little different. After no runners crossed the plate in one inning of play the Eagle's lone hit in the second by Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) scored Dahl. The Cougars answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame.

The next run on the board didn't come until the fifth inning as Sage's RBI single tied the score 2-2. Morris steamed ahead with four runs on three hits in the second half of the frame, including a 2 RBI homer. Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) recorded his second RBI with a single up the middle in the sixth, scoring Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony). Neither team could hit any more runs in, ending the game with a score of 6-3.

Offensively, Northwestern had seven hits to the Cougar's five, as Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) was 2-2 at the plate and recorded two of the team's three RBI.

Splitting time on the mound for NWC was Mark Meredith (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) (Golden Valley, Minn./Armstrong) and Tyler Campion (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian) (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha). Meredith yielded five earned runs and tallied four strike outs in four innings while Campion gave up no earned runs in the final two frames.

The Eagles head into the conference tournament with a 17-21 overall record and 10-11 in UMAC play.

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NWC handed pair of losses