Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. ANTHONY VILLAGE, Minn. – The University of Northwestern baseball team beat Martin Luther College in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, sweeping the Knights in the three-game UMAC Series of the Week. The 16-11 and 9-8 victories secured the No. 3 seed for the Eagles in next weekend's league postseason tournament in Duluth, Minn.

Game 1 featured at least one run scored in every one of the nine innings that were played. While the Eagles never trailed, Northwestern certainly felt the pressure at one point of the ball game in what resulted in a five-run victory for UNW. Leading 11-2 after six complete innings, the Eagles watched Martin Luther come back with eight runs throughout the seventh and eighth innings, bringing the visitors on the scoreboard within a run.

The Eagles started the day with two runs in the first inning and another score in the second as Northwestern started to build up to its hit total of 19 for the game. Andy Haagenson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley) picked up one of his two runs batted in with a second inning single that scored Taylor McMurray (Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace). After matching sacrifice flies in the fourth and fifth frames, UNW put a six-spot on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, using six runs and three Martin Luther errors to put the game out of reach, or so the Eagles thought.

The Knights returned fire with two runs in the top of the seventh before going off with six more runs in the eighth to come within one of UNW. The Eagles responded with a five-run inning in the bottom of the eighth, helped by Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian)'s two-RBI home run to center field to truly reach an insurmountable advantage as Martin Luther's one-run effort in the top of the ninth wasn't enough.

MLC was also good for 19 hits in the game as both teams used three pitchers throughout the two-hour, 38-minute contest at Palm Field. Several of those pitchers' earned run averages were helped by sloppy defense in the field. Martin Luther had eight errors, while the Eagles added three more to make only 12 of the 27 runs scored between the two teams earned. TJ Studer (Perham, Minn/Perham) earned the victory for Northwestern, going seven and one-third frames.

At the plate, Andy Peterson (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) and Mike Studer combined for five doubles. Studer was 5-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Peterson went 4-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.

While the first round was a game of cat and mouse, the Eagles did need a comeback to win the second contest of the day.

Osborn and Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka ) both had RBI singles to help Northwestern score three runs in the opening inning before adding one run in both the second and third frames on hits from Haagenson and Austin Adamson (Willmar, Minn./Willmar). A 5-2 UNW lead turned into a one-run game in the fourth thanks to consecutive singles from Martin Luther that both produced runs. The Eagles put that three-run buffer back on the board with a two-run fifth inning as Sutterer and Isaac Meredith (Robbinsdale, Minn./Armstrong) both scored.

With Northwestern leading 7-4, all was quiet until the ninth, when Martin Luther took advantage of four hits and an Eagles error to score four runs, effectively stealing the edge from UNW in what was now a slim 8-7 buffer for the Knights. The margin proved to not be enough, as Northwestern answered with three big hits that produced a pair of runs before an out could be recorded in the field.

Matt Doss (Pillager, Minn./Pillager) started the Eagles' spree with a double down the right field line before a wild pitched allowed the sophomore to advance to third. Meredith followed with a double of his own, scoring Doss before Peterson's fourth double of the day brought Meredith home for the winning run, effectively boosting Northwestern's record to 18-15 overall and 14-7 in UMAC play.

Connor Olson (Mahtomedi, Minn/Mahtomedi) worked seven innings on the mound for the Eagles, allowing eight hits and three earned runs while striking out five. Corban Halbur (Richfield, Minn./Richfield) survived the eighth inning in relief before getting knocked around in the ninth, when Drew Tennyson (Stuartevant, Wis./Christian Life) came into get that frame's three outs to earn the win.

Haagenson wrapped up the game going 3-4 with a bat in his hands, while Meredith recorded a multiple-RBI game going 1-5 at the plate with two runs scored.

After a brief respite on Sunday, Northwestern will be back on the diamond both Monday and Tuesday. The Eagles will play a single nine-inning game at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul at 4 p.m. on Monday before returning to Palm Field in St. Anthony for another single, nine-inning affair against Hamline University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.