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

MANKATO, Minn. – Northwestern College's nine-game winning streak was snapped by Bethany Lutheran College on Tuesday, but the Eagles still salvaged a win in the run-filled UMAC tripleheader. NWC lost Games 1 and 2 by 8-3 and 15-3 scores before posting a 12-4 victory.

Northwestern was out-hit 10-8 in the first game, but it was the Vikings' seven-run second inning that made things difficult for the visitors on the scoreboard. The Eagles were actually the first team to score as Cody Kielsa (Howard Lake, Minn./Rogers) crossed home plate after hitting a leadoff double to start the game. Six of Bethany's 10 hits came in the bottom of the second. Control became an issue for NWC pitcher Cory Larson (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) as well, who walked two batters in the same frame. Tommy Kramer had a big hit for BLC in the inning, as his one-out double cleared what were loaded bases.

The Vikings added an eighth run in the third inning as they took advantage of a defensive error to begin the frame. NWC would score runs in each of the fifth and sixth frames, but the damage had already been done with the game nearly out of reach. Josh Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian) led off the fifth inning with a solo home run while a Monte Abeler (Upsala, Minn./Upsala) bomb in the seventh accounted for Northwestern's three runs in the game.

Larson went five innings on the hill for the Eagles, striking out three of the 27 batters he faced. Drew Tennyson (Stuartevant, Wis./Christian Life) then pitched a scoreless sixth inning. In the batter's box, Taylor Kauweloa (Kailua, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) went 2-3 with an RBI.

Instead of getting better, things went even more south for NWC in the second game as Bethany scored runs in all but two innings en route to a lopsided 15-3 score. Northwestern mustered just five hits in the game, three of which came from the bat of David Joseph (Kimball, Minn/Kimball).

Joseph tallied an RBI in the seventh inning, the frame in which all three of the Eagles' runs were scored. The freshman's run-scoring single brought home Austin Adamson (Willmar, Minn./Willmar). Meanwhile, Northwestern didn't have an answer for the Vikings at the plate. The Eagles tried three different pitchers -- Tyler Campion (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian), Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) and Tennyson, with the first two allowing 12 earned runs in just over five innings pitched. Holding on to a 3-0 lead, the home team put up a four-spot in the fourth, three more runs in the fifth and five in the sixth.

NWC finally found redemption in the third game as the bats came around for 12 hits. Bethany helped the Eagles too with four errors. The Eagles broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the fourth with five runs on three hits. Abeler doubled in the inning, scoring Joseph and Kauweloa while Mark Meredith (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) picked up an RBI on a single through the left side that scored Abeler.

After Bethany Lutheran answered with one run in the bottom half of the inning, Northwestern countered with a run of its own in the fifth as Cody Durkee (Wilton, N.D./Wilton) took advantage of a Vikings error, scoring on a Kauweloa single up the middle. NWC had another big inning in its back pocket as the Eagles added four runs in the sixth. Hanson started the frame with his second home run of the day. Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) hit a two-RBI single to score Durkee and Kielsa before Joseph's groundout ended the inning.

Durkee did his part in making sure that the Eagles had more than enough insurance runs to win the game as his two-RBI single down the left field line in the top of the seventh solidified the 12-4 victory for Northwestern.

Andy Peterson (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) went all seven innings for the Purple and Gold on the pitcher's mound, allowing nine hits and two earned runs while striking out two. Hanson and Meredith each had three hits in the game with both scoring twice.

Now 18-11 overall and 11-3 in UMAC play, Northwestern will have a short week of practice due to Monday's prolonged tripleheader before gearing up for more games. The Eagles will welcome Finlandia University to the diamond at Reynolds Field for a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday before hitting the road again on Friday for a three-game UMAC series at Northland College in Ashland, Wis.