ST. PAUL – Playing games at their home facility, Reynolds Field, for just the second day this season, Northwestern College eclipsed the .500 mark in the win-loss column with a pair of doubleheader victories over North Central on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles used a 10-run fourth inning to leave little doubt in a 21-1 Game 1 win before taking the second contest 17-2.

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

Andy Peterson (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) allowed just one run on four hits throughout a five-inning appearance in the first game, earning his fifth victory of the season behind four strikeouts. The Eagles' ace most likely won't see the field again until next week's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament, when a berth into the NCAA Midwest regional will be on the line.

Northwestern got on the board in a big way in the second inning, turning seven hits in to seven runs with some help from a pair of Rams errors. With runners on first and second bases, Bryan McCallum (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) singled to left center to earn his first run batted in of the day before Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) cleared the bases on a two-run scoring triple. The Eagles had nearly gone through their entire lineup before North Central forced an out in the frame as Cody Durkee (Wilton, N.D./Wilton) and Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) both picked up RBI singles.

After Peterson forced another zero on the scoreboard in the top half of the third, NWC came back with four more runs in its at-bats in the bottom half of the inning. Rau was good for another RBI on his single to center field that scored McCallum before Taylor McMurray (Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace) tripled past the center fielder to bring in two more runs.

Then came the monster fourth inning that saw Northwestern put up a 10-spot, again courtesy of several hits with more North Central errors. Nearly every Eagles batter placed their feet in the box on two separate occasions with many of the runs coming across home plate unearned.

NWC head coach Dave Hieb then turned to his bench for an array of substitutions, with eight of the Eagles' nine starters cheering their teammates on from the dugout in the last half of the game as the UMAC's 10-run rule easily came into play after seven innings.

TJ Studer (Perham, Minn/Perham) wrapped up the final two frames on the mound, yielding just one hit in the process with two strikeouts. At the plate, six different Northwestern players posted multiple RBIs, with McMurray and Rau each leading the way with four runs batted in. Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) added to his already program-leading career hits total with three in Game 1.

The second game of the day started much like the first, with the Eagles scoring 11 of their 17 runs in the first two innings of the game. Meanwhile, Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View)'s outing on the mound was similar to that of Peterson's in Game 1 with the senior allowing four hits and no runs in his five-inning appearance.

The first two NWC batters of the game all found themselves on first base – not due to a hit, but rather thanks to a walk or being hit by one of William Rosevear's pitches. With men on base, Cody Kielsa (Howard Lake, Minn./Rogers) hit a two-run double to left field to start the Eagles' scoring spree. Austin Adamson (Willmar, Minn./Willmar), who earned the Game 2 start at second base, followed with a sacrifice fly that brought Kielsa home before Isaac Black (Williston, North Dakota/Williston) and Lance Lebaron (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) both earned RBIs by way of being hit by a wayward pitch with the bases loaded. In all, Northwestern scored five runs on one hit in the frame.

While Rosevear was pulled in the second inning, not much changed on the Eagles' end as NWC scored six runs on five hits thanks to two errors. With two outs on the board, Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) started a string of hits with his single up the middle before Adamson collected another couple of RBIs with a laser through the left side. By the end of the frame, Northwestern led 11-0.

More scoring followed win the third and fourth innings as NWC drove in three runs in each frame. Andy Haagenson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley) picked up an RBI in the third, while Isaac Black (Williston, North Dakota/Williston) was also able to bring a run across in the fourth to conclude the Eagles' run total at 17.

North Central scored a run each on NWC's Jesse Donahue (Pine Island, Minn./Pine Island) and Benjamin Jenneyin the sixth and seventh frames, but the deficit on the scoreboard was too large to not fall under the 10-rule in seven innings. Adamson and Haagenson each finished with three RBI in the game, together collecting five hits in eight at-bats. Lebaron and Kielsa each scored twice.

Now 13-12 overall, the wins improve Northwestern's UMAC record to 8-2 with yet another doubleheader scheduled on Sunday, May 5 against Northland College after two rescheduling attempts both failed due to rain. The Eagles and LumberJacks will square off at Reynolds Field at 1 p.m.