Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. PAUL – After having to wait a weekend due to unplayable field conditions, the Northwestern College baseball team started its 2013 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schedule on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Eagles, NWC dropped both games of a doubleheader against reigning conference champion College of St. Scholastica in 5-2 and 3-0 fashion.

In the first game of the day, Northwestern held a two-run lead that slowly disappeared as the game went into its middle to late innings. The Eagles took advantage of a three-run second inning that started with a David Joseph (Kimball, Minn/Kimball) groundout to second base that scored Taylor Gonyea (Pine City, Minn./Pine City), who had singled to lead off the frame. Brian McCallum, who followed Gonyea with a double down the left field line, crossed home plate on another Northwestern double, this time off the bat of Andy Haagenson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley).

The Saints eventually tied the game with runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Austin Colvard started the fourth with a double down the left field line before scoring in the fourth, while an Eagles error opened the door for St. Scholastica in the sixth.

CSS found its groove in the seventh frame, taking the lead with three consecutive hits. Another Saints run in the eighth gave St. Scholastica a three-run pad as the Eagles' bats went silent, producing just one hit over the last three innings.

Despite the three-run loss, Northwestern out-hit the Saints with each team committing an error. Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) pitched seven innings for the Eagles, allowing seven of St. Scholastica's hits that produced three earned runs. St. Scholastica's Michael Swenson earned the win as he allowed just one NWC hit over four innings of work.

St. Scholastica's momentum continued into the second game of the day as snow began to fall from the sky. None of Northwestern's six hits turned into runs, while the Saints, who played as the home team with last at-bats in both games since the original three-game series was supposed to be played in Duluth, Minn., used 11 hits to push a total of three runs across in the first and fifth innings.

Northwestern's top pitcher, Andy Peterson (Rogers, Minn./Rogers), made his first UMAC appearance in the second contest of Friday's twin bill. Peterson was roughed up for four hits in the bottom of the first as the Saints' first four batters reached base. Peterson was good for six innings before turning the hill over to teammate Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis), who finished the nine-inning game.

The Eagles' Taylor McMurray (Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace) and Gonyea each had two hits in the first game, but no Eagle was able to post multiple hits in the second round of the day.

Now 5-12 overall, Northwestern starts its UMAC campaign 0-2 while the Saints head back home with an 11-4 mark (2-0 UMAC).

The Eagles are slated to play again next Tuesday, April 9, against Crown College in the western suburbs. An exact location for that doubleheader has yet to be announced and will be posted on nwceagles.com when information becomes available.