Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

University of Northwestern Athletics

The Official Website of the University of Northwestern Eagles

Slideshow

bblong

Baseball

Eagles cruise to 7-3 win over North Central

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College baseball team opened Reynolds Field's 2010 debut with a bang on Friday afternoon, handing North Central University a 7-3 nine-inning loss. After scoring the game's first two runs in the bottom of the first inning, Northwestern used steady offensive contributions and consistent pitching in the game's middle-to-late frames to solidify the win.

Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. A few batters later, Kevin Votaw (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) singled down the right field line to score Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran).

North Central scored three runs on a trio of hits to take the lead in the top of the fourth. The Eagles responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Votaw scored on a sacrifice fly by Zach Holsman (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) after singling to center field to lead off the inning. Kevin Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) brought Mike Sharp (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) across home plate in NWC's next at-bat before a groundout ended the inning.

Long added more runs for NWC in the fifth and sixth innings, crossing the plate on RBI hits by Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) and Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis). Another run in the bottom of the seventh frame wrapped up Northwestern's scoring in the game, and the Eagles cruised to a 7-3 victory.

Long had an impressive day for Northwestern, going 3-5 at the plate with a trio of runs scored. Nelson was 2-5 and Votaw was 2-4. Together, the pair accounted for three of NWC's runs. Mike Sharp (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) was also 2-3 at the plate with an RBI.

Andrew Stokes (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) hurled six innings from the mound to start the game, giving up all three of North Central's runs while striking out five of the 28 batters he faced. Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) (Mounds View, Minn./Mounds View) relieved Stokes in the seventh inning, yielding three hits and no runs to close out the contest.

Errors hampered North Central throughout the game as the Rams committed four mistakes. Four of Northwestern's seven runs were earned.

The Eagles, now 6-7 overall, will return to Reynolds Field on Tuesday, March 30, to face North Central again. Tuesday will feature a 2 p.m. doubleheader in St. Paul.
Print Friendly Version