Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

LINDSTROM, Minn. – The University of Northwestern earned a berth into next weekend's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament with a doubleheader sweep of Northland College at Chisago Lakes High School on Saturday. The 6-5 and 7-3 wins were the Eagles' second and third straight.

Jayna Loy gave UNW fits with two home runs in Game 1, including Northland's first hit of the day. But Northwestern hung with the LumberJills before going off for four runs in the top of the seventh inning. The Eagles' first runs came in the third frame as Megan Threlkeld (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville)'s single scored both Kelsey Stoltman (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) and Emily Geurkink (Baldwin, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville).

Trailing 5-2, Northwestern's seventh inning spree came at the right time. With runners on first and second, Threlkeld was back at it as her RBI single brought Stoltman in. Jennifer Ankrom (New Hampton, Iowa/New Hampton) then reached base on a fielder's choice, scoring Foricer along the way. Erin Kleinjan (Avon, Minn./Holdingford) followed with a double that scored Ankrom before Maddie Pierro (Andover, Minn./Legacy) earned an RBI of her own two batters later.

With Lauren Silbernick (Osakis, Minn./Osakis) on the mound for the late innings, Northland got a two-out hit in the bottom of the seventh before Averi Kanyuh's pop fly ended the game with the Eagles in front.

Silbernick received the win after reliving Kaia Larson (Ramsey, Minn./Meadow Creek) in the fourth inning. In three and two-thirds frames of work, the freshman allowed three hits and just one earned run. At the plate, Threlkeld finished with a UNW-best three hits with the same number of runs batted in.

Three Northland errors helped the Eagles' cause, as one of UNW's runs came in unearned.

Silbernick then pitched all seven innings of Game 2 to earn her second win of the day while allowing just one earned run. All seven of Northwestern's runs came in the third, fourth and fifth innings – before the LumberJills had put any runs on the board.

Kleinjan started things with a two-RBI single in the third before Colleen Feldheim (Northfield, Ill./Loyola Academy) and Stoltman both used their bat to score Pierro and Feldheim in the fourth inning. Then came a three-run fifth for the Eagles that saw Ann Lokke (St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis)'s single bring in both Morgan Pfaff (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and Kleinjan before a Feldheim single scored Lokke.

Both Northwestern and Northland had four defensive errors in the game, and the Eagles got hurt by miscues in the field in each of the final three innings. But Silbernick's work on the mound was enough to get UNW into the four-team UMAC playoff field as either the No. 3 or 4 seed.

Kleinjan was good for Northwestern's multiple hits award in Game 2, bringing in two runs along the way in the senior's three at-bats.

Now 16-20 on the season overall (11-7 UMAC), the Eagles are currently scheduled to play their final UMAC doubleheader against the College of St. Scholastica on Tuesday, April 29 at 3 p.m. in Minneapolis. Whether that twin bill will take place at that time is less than a 100 percent chance as Tuesday's forecast calls for a high of 41 degrees with continued wind and rain. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for continued details as they become available.