DULUTH, Minn. – The 2013 season came to a close for the Northwestern College baseball team on Saturday as the Eagles lost to the College of St. Scholastica in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament championship game 12-8. NWC earned a place in the championship game by defeating Martin Luther College 5-2 in the Eagles' first game of the day.

Northwestern-Martin Luther Box Score | Northwestern-St. Scholastica Box Score

Northwestern used a three-run eighth inning to solidify its victory against Martin Luther after owning a 2-0 lead as the Eagles came up to bat. A Lance Lebaron (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) double was key to Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis)'s RBI single in the third frame before Taylor Kauweloa (Kailua, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) took advantage of being hit by a pitch while in the batter's box and eventually score in the sixth.

Senior Bryan McCallum (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) showed that he wasn't ready to end his career in an Eagles uniform quite yet when his number was called in the eighth. With Kauweloa and Cody Kielsa (Howard Lake, Minn./Rogers) on second and third bases, McCallum hit a big two-RBI double to left to pad Northwestern's advantage. Three batters later, Taylor McMurray (Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace) came home on a sacrifice fly by Andy Haagenson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley).

Markwith was nearly flawless on the mound, allowing just one run from the Knights' bats in both the eighth and ninth innings as he worked a complete game. Both Martin Luther runs were earned, but Markwith kept most of his opponents off of the base paths with 10 strikeouts.

McMurray finished a perfect 3-3 at the plate while Lebaron and Markwith both went 2-4 in the box as Northwestern out-hit the Knights 9-7.

The tournament finale offered a bit of a different flavor as the Eagles, who scored the first run of the game against St. Scholastica, had to battle back from a 10-run second inning by the top-seeded Saints. NWC turned to Jonathon Ellis (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) to start on the hill, but the freshman was only able to get one out in the second. After Ellis allowed five runs, head coach Dave Hieb turned to Drew Tennyson (Stuartevant, Wis./Christian Life). But after five more runs and just one more out, Tennyson's day was done and sophomore TJ Studer (Perham, Minn/Perham) went the remaining six and one-third innings.

Northwestern chipped away at St. Scholastica's lead with two runs in the third frame and two more in the fourth. A pair of errors helped the Eagles reach base and score in the third with Markwith singling home the other run on a hit to left center. CSS's defensive blunders were once again Northwestern's friend in the fourth as Kauweloa scored on a Haagenson double down the left field line. Cody Durkee (Wilton, N.D./Wilton) was the recipient of a free RBI in NWC's next at-bat as the senior was walked with the bases loaded to put the Eagles within five at 10-5.

Studer was on cruise control until the bottom of the sixth, when three St. Scholastica hits yielded two runs to give the home team a seven run buffer. Northwestern responded with three runs in the top of the seventh frame, once again taking advantage of more defensive mistakes from the Saints. The Eagles had runners on all three bases when Kauweloa reached on a fielding error by shortstop Joe Casareto, scoring Durkee along the way. McCallum then got a free pass to first base on a walk that brought in Markwith before an Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) single through the right side allowed Kielsa to score. Unfortunately, that would end the Eagles' scoring as Northwestern was able to muster just one hit in the final two innings to eventually lose 12-4, sending St. Scholastica to its 16th straight UMAC Tournament title in addition to earning a ticket to the NCAA regional semifinals.

The Saints held a 16-9 advantage in hitting despite committing eight errors in the game compared to just two for NWC. Durkee and Rau were the only two Eagles to post multiple hits in the game.

Northwestern finishes its 2013 campaign with a 17-18 overall record, going 9-3 in an abbreviated conference schedule. The Eagles, who tied for second in the UMAC regular season standings, will have to say goodbye to seven seniors from this year's roster including several who have made an impact for many years. With his 1-5 performance at the plate in the second game today, one of those seniors – Markwith – became the first NWC player to ever record 200 career hits, as he assumed first place in that category on April 26.

For more information about Northwestern baseball as it becomes available, stay tuned to nwceagles.com.