Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Northwestern College baseball team claimed the first of a three-game series against Presentation College by a 6-3 score to open both teams' Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schedules. The Eagles and Saints will finish the series with a pair of seven-inning games on Saturday afternoon.

Northwestern jumped on the Saints early, scoring two runs in their first at-bats of the game. With two outs, Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis), Taylor Kauweloa (Kailua, Hawaii/Damien Memorial), Andy Peterson (Rogers, Minn./Rogers), and David Joseph (Kimball, Minn/Kimball) strung together four straight singles, with Peterson's and Joseph's hits scoring Markwith and Kauweloa.

Presentation answered in the bottom of the second inning, tying the game with two runs of their own. With runners on first and second bases, Cory Wesch hit a two-RBI single to knot the score at 2-2.

The Eagles scored one run in each of the fifth and sixth frames, due much in part to the bat of Cody Durkee (Wilton, N.D./Wilton). Durkee tripled to center field to lead off the fifth, scoring on a Kauweloa RBI groundout. Then in the sixth, Durkee's fielder's choice brought Josh Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian) across the plate.

Up 4-2, Northwestern added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. With two outs on the board, David Joseph (Kimball, Minn/Kimball) hit a single before a home run from Hanson – the Eagles' first of the season – gave the Eagles a 6-2 advantage. While the runs wouldn't have mattered in terms of NWC getting the win, they did add a cushion as Presentation scored a run in their final at-bats to end the game with a  6-3 final score.

Northwestern (7-8, 1-0 UMAC) doubled up the Saints in hits, 12-6, while Cory Larson (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) worked almost the entire game on the pitcher's mound to earn the victory. Larson went eight and two-thirds innings, striking out nine batters while yielding all three runs. Mark Meredith (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) came in to get the final out of the game to earn the save.

Joseph, Hanson and Monte Abeler (Upsala, Minn./Upsala) each had a two-hit game in the batter's box, while Hanson was one of five Eagles to earn an RBI on Friday afternoon.

The same two teams will meet each other again on Saturday to finish the series, starting a doubleheader at 12 p.m. in Aberdeen.