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Kenny Stokes

Baseball

Balzer shines again as Eagles take one against Bethany Lutheran

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Game 3 Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. -- Northwestern College took one game of a Saturday afternoon tripleheader with Bethany Lutheran College. The Eagles won Game 1 by a 5-1 score before nearly knocking off the Vikings in Game 2.

Northwestern's Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) gave up just one earned run for the third straight game, all of which were six or more innings long. Balzer shut down the Viking bats, striking out three.

The Eagles got on the board first with a run in the third inning as Nick Jones (Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) (Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) homered over the left field wall. Northwestern came back with a two-run fourth frame as Jones singled up the middle to score Kurt Votaw (Coon Rapids, Minn./Hinckley Finlayson) (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) and Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran). The Eagles' lead was extended to five runs in the sixth as Northwestern took advantage of back-to-back Bethany Lutheran errors. With Votaw and Monty Abeler (Upsala, Minn./Upsala) on base, Zach Holsman (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) singled up the middle, earning two RBI in the process.

Bethany Lutheran's only run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out in the seventh, Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) took care of Balzer's win, striking out one of the four batters he faced.

Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) had one of two two-hit games for Northwestern, with Jones' hits accounting for the other pair.

Game 2 looked similar to the first contest with more runs scored. With the Eagles leading 7-6, Bethany Lutheran scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game.

Northwestern was 2-2 for scoring first as the Eagles took advantage of a leadoff double by Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato). Long scored on a double by Nelson to give NWC a 1-0 lead.

The Vikings responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame, matching Northwestern's scoring with a two-out home run by Justin Schwecke. As NWC scored two more runs in the third inning, Bethany Lutheran did the same as the score was tied 3-3 after three innings of play. The Eagles pounded out two more runs in the fourth as Long hit another double that scored Andy Borud (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) and Markwith. Instead of matching Northwestern's output, Bethany one-upped their opponents with a three-run fourth to take a 6-5 advantage into the fifth inning.

After Markwith doubled to left-center in the sixth, Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) singled up the middle to score two runs. Tyler Campion (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian) (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha) did his part on the mound, giving up just one hit in an inning of work in the sixth to set up a save opportunity in the seventh. Mark Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) struggled after getting his first out though, as Bethany Lutheran hit three straight singles to win the game.

Markwith was 3-3 in the game with an RBI and two runs scored, while Long and Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) each collected two hits in the game.

As if two games weren't enough for the day, the two teams played a third due to Friday's single nine-inning game being postponed due to inclement weather. Saturday's third game, which was shortened to a seven-inning contest, saw Bethany Lutheran score seven runs in their final two at-bats to win 9-3.

Following suit from the first two games, Northwestern scored first yet again as Long led the game off with a double to left field. Markwith followed with an RBI single to score Long as the two accounted for NWC's two hits in the inning. The Vikings scored single runs in the first and third innings, both of which came on Markwith's watch as the freshman took to the hill to start Game 3. Bethany Lutheran came back to the plate with more offense in the fifth and sixth frames, as the home team accounted for seven runs on eight hits. A two-spot by the Eagles in the seventh inning wasn't enough, and Bethany left its home turf with a 9-3 victory.

Markwith went five and one-third innings on the hill before being relieved by Josh Englund (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North). Markwith gave up nine runs, eight of which were earned before giving the ball to Englund, who took care of business in his two-thirds of an inning.

At the plate, Votaw went 3-4 with an RBI, while Long and Markwith tallied two hits. Long's stat line for the day included four hits, three of which were doubles. Markwith paced the team with seven hits in the three-game extravaganza. Following the day's events, Northwestern returned to St. Paul with a 15-19 overall record and an 8-10 mark in UMAC action.

The Eagles will return to the field on Tuesday, May 4 when they travel down Snelling Avenue to play Macalester College in a single nine-inning game at 4:30 p.m.
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