ASHLAND, Wis. – The Northwestern College baseball team qualified for a berth in next weekend's UMAC Postseason Tournament with a victory over Northland College on Saturday afternoon.  The Eagles split Saturday's doubleheader with Northland, losing 5-2 before winning the second game 10-1.

Northwestern didn't have much to brag about in the twin bill's first game as the host LumberJills out-hit the Eagles 9-6.  Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View), who has had some outstanding performances from the mound in his last three starts, had somewhat of an off day as he went all six innings on the hill.  Northland's Bryce Szymanski, meanwhile, shined on the LumberJacks' senior day, giving up just two runs over seven innings.

As has been the case in a majority of the Eagles' conference games in 2010, Northwestern got on the board first when Ryan Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) singled home Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony).  Halstensgard had reached base with a two-out double to left field.

Northland scored five runs over the first and second innings before the Eagles answered with their second and final run of the game in the third frame.  Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) doubled to left field to lead off the inning before scoring on a groundout by Nelson.  The Eagles had a chance to put more runs on the board, but a double play with the bases loaded ended Northwestern's offensive momentum.

Neither team scored a run throughout the remaining three and a half innings, and Northland went into Game 2 with a 5-2 victory.  Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) was the only Eagle to record two hits in the game, accounting for one third of the team's total.

Nelson, who has been struggling with a score arm recently, returned to the mound to pitch one of his last games in a Northwestern uniform.  The senior hurled a gem on the mound, giving up just one run and striking out seven to pave the way for an Eagles victory.

The Eagles dugout was full of smiles early as NWC posted a four-spot in the second inning.  Andy Borud (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) and Long recorded RBI singles before Halstensgard singled up the middle to score Long.  The Eagles scored again in the fourth inning when Borud scored on an intentional steal play.  Things continued to go the good guys' way in the fifth as Nelson hit an RBI double to score Halstensgard.  Later in the inning, a Northland error allowed Nelson to score.

Northwestern wasn't done yet, as a three-run seventh inning allowed the Eagles to reach 10 runs for the game.  Brady Erickson (Chisholm, Minn./Chisholm) (Chisholm, Minn./Chisholm) added another RBI to his already stellar freshman season, bringing Halstensgard across the plate on a single.  More LumberJacks errors gave NWC an advantage, and the Eagles finished the doubleheader with a 10-1 victory.

Long and Halstensgard, two of five seniors to start the game for Northwestern, both tallied three hits and an RBI in the game.  Nelson added a 2-3 performance in the batter's box while Borud went 3-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Northwestern, who made several last-minute transitions to accommodate inclement weather in Ashland, Wis., will finish the three-game series with a very rare Sunday morning affair to finish the team's regular season.  The Eagles and Lumberjacks will wrap things up with a 10:30 a.m. game in Ashland.  The UMAC Tournament will be hosted by the College of St. Scholastica at Wallace Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minn. on May 13-15.