MINNEAPOLIS – The 2010 baseball season didn't start off nearly as well as Northwestern College hoped as the Eagles lost both games of an overnight doubleheader with Bethel University.  Both teams were playing their first games of the season with the Metrodome being the venue.  The Royals claimed 6-2 and 7-3 victories.

Pitcher Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) kept Northwestern close in Game 1 until Bethel put up a 3-spot in the top of the seventh inning, courtesy of three straight singles to give the Royals a four-run victory.  NWC's runs came in the first and sixth frames.  After Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) reached first base on a leadoff walk and landed on third due to an error, freshman  Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) hit a sacrifice fly to score the Eagles' leadoff hitter.

In the sixth, Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) scored on a double by Mike Sharp (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove).  Unfortunately for Northwestern, Sharp was one of five Eagles left on base in the game.

Nelson went six innings on the mound for the Purple and Gold, giving up three runs on six hits. Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) wrapped up the seventh frame, yielding three runs on as many hits.

Game 2 proved to be a similar story for NWC, as late-inning runs sparked Bethel to a 2-0 record on the young season.  The Royals scored two runs in the bottom of the third frame on a pair of hits before Northwestern responded with a run of its own in the fifth inning as Sharp crossed the plate.  Bethel responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking any preexisting momentum away and ultimately putting the game out of reach for the Eagles.

NWC scored two of its three runs for the game in the sixth inning after Nelson and Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) hit back-to-back singles.  The Eagles threatened to score more with the bases loaded and just one out, but consecutive strikeouts quickly ended that hope before Bethel ultimately won 7-3.

Andrew Stokes (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) got the nod to start Game 2 for Northwestern, giving up six runs on six hits over a span of five innings.  After striking out the first batter he faced in his collegiate career, Eagles freshman Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) yielded one run on three hits from the mound

Long, Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony), Sharp and Zach Holsman (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) were responsible for Northwestern's four hits in Game 1.  Halstensgard and Sharp collected two of the team's five hits in the second game, but the rest of the Eagle bats went silent.

Northwestern (0-2) will have a chance to win its first game of the 2010 season on Monday, March 1, when the Eagles face Dickinson State University in the Metrodome.  Monday's first pitch is scheduled for 12:15 p.m.