DULUTH, Minn. – After four consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) series wins, the University of Northwestern was swept this weekend as the College of St. Scholastica won both games of a Saturday doubleheader against the Eagles on Saturday, 10-6 and 12-5.

The Saints, who were 14-4 winners of the three-game series' opening contest on Friday, jumped all over UNW starting pitcher Troy Nelson (Buena Park, Calif. /Buena Park) to start Saturday's first game. Northwestern had scored five combined runs in the first and second innings, doing their own damage against St. Scholastica starter Daniel Wood. Mike Studer hit a one-out, two-RBI double in the first before Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) did the same in the second. But CSS responded to those five runs with a four-run first frame and a three-run second. Nelson struggled with his control early on as multiple walks assisted hit totals that were less than the runs that scored.

St. Scholastica added two more runs in the third, leading 9-5 with a third of the nine-inning affair in the rear view mirror. Osborn provided some help for Northwestern in the fifth with a solo home run over the right field fence, but the Saints matched that run in the sixth thanks to a Sam Christofferson RBI single. From there, it was zeros the rest of the way, and the four-run margin for St. Scholastica remained through the ninth.

Both squads had plenty of hits – Northwestern finished the game with nine and St. Scholastica had 12. UNW's Braxton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) and Osborn each had three hits, with Osborn adding three RBI and two runs scored. Nelson lasted just an inning and two-thirds, with Erik Nyquist (Elk River, Minn./Pine Island) throwing from the hill in the final six innings for Northwestern. Wood stayed in for eight innings for the Saints to earn the victory.

While St. Scholastica's hits total increased in Game 2, Northwestern's went down in a 12-5 loss. The Saints scored at least one run in all but one inning, not having to come to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with a seven-run victory in hand. Connor Olson (Mahtomedi, Minn/Mahtomedi) was the victim on the mound this time as CSS put up two runs in each of the first, second, and third frames.

UNW's first runs came in the third, with Lindow starting a run thanks to an RBI double that scored Brock Peterson (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) from third base. Two batters later, Osborn picked up his fourth RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly.

Northwestern found life again in the seventh, using three more runs to pull the game score to 8-5 before the Saints came up to bat in the bottom half of the inning. UNW had discipline at the plate, forcing five walks in what was just a one-hit frame. St. Scholastica put up a run in the seventh before a three-run eighth did the Eagles in.

Benjamin Jenney (Albertville, Minn./Maranatha Christian), who got the only batter he faced out in the first game of the day, relieved Olson in the fifth inning after CSS had put up eight runs. Jenney's 2.51 season ERA took a hit as the Saints put up four earned runs on his watch.

Lindow had another three-hit performance in the batter's box, while Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored, taking two walks in the late game.

For a team that started the week with a 16-13 overall record, that mark has now fallen below .500 due to the Eagles' current four-game losing streak. The squad will be happy to take to its home field again on Tuesday, April 28 to try and end that stretch when it hosts Macalester College for a pair of seven-inning games in a 5 p.m. doubleheader at Reynolds Field.