Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. PAUL – After a flurry of postponements and cancellations, the University of Northwestern baseball team played a game on its home diamond at Reynolds Field for the first time in the 2014 season on Tuesday. The Eagles took two from North Central University in UNW's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opening day by 16-5 and 10-0 scores.

Northwestern had to play from behind early in the first game as North Central owned a 5-0 lead after two and a half innings. But just as starting pitcher Troy Nelson (Buena Park, Calif. /Buena Park) was starting to get comfortable on the mound, so too were the Eagles' bats. After Andy Haagenson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley) scored UNW's first run of the day in the bottom of the third inning, Northwestern added two more in the fourth when Taylor McMurray (Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace) hit a two-out, two-run home run over the left field fence to get his team closer at 5-3.

Then came another two-out rally for the Eagles, only this one was much bigger – to the tune of a nine-run fifth inning. 13 Northwestern batters strung together seven hits, with two North Central errors adding to the Rams' misery as UNW not only took the lead, but never looked back in the process. Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka )'s two-run blast towards the end of the run made quite the debut for the Northwestern freshman, who went 3-5 at the plate with a trio of RBI.

Leading 12-5 after five full innings, the Eagles continued to pour on the offense with a four-run sixth frame. Haagenson finished at the plate the way he started the game, with a double that ultimately brought the senior home after Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge)'s single to right field. Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) also doubled in his Reynolds Field debut before Nelson went 1-2-3 from the rubber in the top of the seventh inning to end the game with UNW earning the 10-run after seven innings rule en route to an 11-run victory.

In addition to Sutterer's big game, Haagenson was one of four other Eagles to have multiple hits. McMurray finished the game with four RBI from his leadoff spot as UNW posted 14 hits as a team. Nelson's line finished with the transfer allowing 10 hits while striking out three in the seven-frame complete game.

Northwestern continued the 10-run rule trend in the second game with a 10-0 victory in seven innings. TJ Studer (Perham, Minn/Perham) threw a complete game shutout for the Eagles in the shortened affair, striking out 10 Rams players while allowing just three hits from the mound.

UNW's runs production was steady in Game 2 as the Eagles started out with two runs in the first followed by another run in the second inning. Sutterer was once again good for an RBI in his single in the first that scored Rau before Mike Studer doubled to right field to bring Sutterer home. In the second, Haagenson took advantage of a defensive error in the field in his at-bat before eventually scoring on a Rau groundout.

After bringing a run across in the fourth, Northwestern put a two-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth inning before closing out the afternoon with a four-run seventh inning. With runners on first and second, Isaac Meredith (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) doubled to right center to bring in both Austin Adamson (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) and Cameron Mingo (Nassau, Bahamas/Kingston Academy) before McMurray drove a double of his own to left to bring in Meredith. Osborn's single to right field two batters later sealed the deal as Haagenson crossed the plate, ultimately giving the Eagles a 10-0 win.

McMurray and Meredith both produced multiple RBIs as the two helped Northwestern out-hit North Central 9-3.

Now 6-8 overall and 2-0 in UMAC play, the Eagles will work on a few things in practice the next two days before opening a three-game series against conference foe University of Minnesota Morris on Friday at 3 p.m. The Eagles and Cougars will play one nine-inning game on Friday afternoon before wrapping up with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, with all games taking place at Reynolds Field.