ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern displayed its best hitting performances to date this season to sweep a weekend three-game series against Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) foe Bethany Lutheran College as the Eagles won both games of a Saturday doubleheader in 9-1 and 19-5 fashion. In addition to collectively out-hitting the Vikings 31-15, UNW hit five home runs against a team that entered the weekend tied for first in the league standings.

Troy Nelson (Buena Park, Calif. /Buena Park) fed off of Connor Olson (Mahtomedi, Minn/Mahtomedi)'s pitching gem from Friday to start Saturday's action. Nelson surrendered just one run, which was unearned, in an eight-inning outing that saw the junior strike out six Bethany Lutheran batters.

The Vikings' lone run of the game was the first scored by either team as BLC hit a trio of short flares into the outfield in the top of the second inning. Northwestern answered back in the bottom half of the frame as Matt Doss (Pillager, Minn./Pillager) led off the inning with a double down the right field line. Doss advanced to third on a bunt single before Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) earned an RBI to tie the game at 1-1.

Doss kept up his pace in the third, using a sacrifice fly to score Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) to effectively give Northwestern a lead for good.

While Nelson allowed 10 hits on the day, he didn't have to work his way out of too many jams. However, he did face runners on the corners in the top of the fourth inning, but struck out Zach Herd to end the inning. Nelson also got out of the fifth frame with a runner on second.

Osborn was only heating up after reaching base via an error in the third. The sophomore doubled to start the fifth and scored on Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School)'s sacrifice bunt before hitting a two-run, opposite field home run over the 20-foot fence in left field in the sixth, a hit that bumped UNW's lead to 4-1.

The fielding issues continued for the Vikings, who allowed Brock Peterson (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) to score from second on a routine single by Doss in the fifth, followed by a pair of E6s to assist the Eagles' run that boosted the lead to 9-1. In all, Bethany committed six errors compared to Northwestern's one.

Benjamin Jenney (Albertville, Minn./Maranatha Christian) pitched a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation to help the Eagles win the series before the third game had even begun.

Whatever feelings of "it couldn't be better" were had after a 9-1 win were literally smashed rather quickly in the second round of Saturday's twin bill as Northwestern scored in each of its six at-bats to apply a 10-run rule after seven innings. Osborn followed his home run performance from the first game with two more in the second, while Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka ) also blasted a pair of homers in the win.

Much like the 12 p.m. first pitch, Bethany scored first, but UNW was quick to respond. Braxton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) took advantage of a botched first inning attempt to catch the right fielder stealing third, and ultimately earned home plate as a result. The same was true in the second inning as MacMurray scored from third on a passed ball.

The Eagles' bats really started to come alive again in the third frame as Northwestern's first six batters got on base before an out was recorded. Morrell and Sutterer hit back-to-back doubles before Peterson followed with an RBI triple, effectively sitting Bethany Lutheran starting pitcher Brandyn Olsen down. UNW owned an 8-1 advantage on the scoreboard, a margin that was plenty for Northwestern starter Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool).

The Vikings scored three runs on Morrell in its next opportunity at the plate, but only one was earned due to a defensive miscue by Doss at third base. Then came the home run spree, started by an Osborn laser that drilled the scoreboard that stands behind the right field fence. Sutterer followed suit two batters later, going to the deepest part of the ballpark in center field for a solo shot that put the Eagles lead at 10-4.

Bethany Lutheran wouldn't go away quietly, using consecutive doubles to tally another run off of Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) in the fifth, but that would be the end of the Vikings' scoring for the day.

Cue up Osborn again in the fifth, this time to center field as the sophomore cleared the wall in all three fields on the day. Sutterer got one more chance in the sixth to send another shot over the fence, and the purple-topped Eagles, helped by RBI hits from Lindow and MacMurray, were on their way to a 14-run victory.

Morrell went all seven innings on the hill, taking credit for three of Bethany Lutheran's five runs while striking out one. At the plate, Osborn was 3-for-3, while Sutterer's 3-for-5 performance yielded five runs batted in.

Saturday was the first time since May 4, 2013 that Northwestern scored 19 runs in a game.

At 14-11 overall (8-4 UMAC), the Eagles find themselves on a seven-game winning streak. UNW now finds itself tied with Bethany Lutheran at second place in the UMAC standings, while the College of St. Scholastica stands alone in first with a 9-1 conference record. Next up for the Eagles is a nonconference game on Tuesday, April 14 at Bethel University, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.