ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College baseball team dropped a nonconference game to the University of St. Thomas on Tuesday, losing to the Tommies 12-1. St. Thomas, who won the NCAA Championship in 2009, has won 15 of its last 16 games.

Northwestern's lone run of the game came in the fourth inning when the Tommies already had seven runs the board. With Monte Abeler (Upsala, Minn./Upsala) (Upsala, Minn./Upsala) on second base, Austin Adamson (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) doubled to centerfield. Following the run, Adamson advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded on third as the inning ended.

10 of St. Thomas' 12 runs came in multi-run innings, as the Tommies brought home four runs in the second and three in both the third and fourth frames. Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) started the Eagles' list of seven NWC pitchers that saw action in the game. Markwith gave up three earned runs in two innings before yielding the mound to Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) as the Eagles geared up for the UMAC Tournament, which is currently scheduled to begin on Thursday in Duluth, Minn.

Northwestern, now 13-23 overall, will begin the conference tournament against the College of St. Scholastica, who swept the Eagles in a three-game series last weekend. Weather may play a factor, as the Duluth forecast calls for rain on Friday and Saturday.