COON RAPIDS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern baseball team won its third and fourth consecutive games on Tuesday, using an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) doubleheader to get back to a .500 record for the season. Northwestern scored a combined 24 runs to sweep North Central University ahead of another weekend series against Bethany Lutheran College this Friday and Saturday.

UNW scored in five different innings, including a four-run fifth frame, to best the Rams 12-7 in Tuesday's first game. While the playing conditions were less than ideal with a 40-degree temperature and spitting light rain at various points of the day, the Eagles took advantage of a four-hit performance by Matt Doss (Pillager, Minn./Pillager) en route to a 16-hit contest.

Trailing North Central 1-0 early on, Doss started Northwestern's scoring with an RBI single that scored Mike Studer. Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) and Braxton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) also recorded RBI hits in the same inning to give the Eagles a lead they would never look back upon. Doss continued to excel at the plate with RBI hits in both the fourth and fifth innings – the latter being a double – as UNW boosted its margin to 9-2 on the scoreboard. North Central answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but only one of those scores was charged against Eagles pitcher Corban Halbur (Richfield, Minn./Richfield) as Northwestern would have gotten out of the frame earlier had a defensive error not allowed the Rams to have more at-bats.

In addition to the double-digit hits count, UNW also stole eight bases in the game.

Jonathan Ellis worked the first five innings to earn the victory from the mound, with Halbur's one inning of work in the sixth being an intermediary before Benjamin Jenney (Albertville, Minn./Maranatha Christian) worked the final three frames. Jenney (1 hit, 1 earned run), struck out three of the 11 batters he faced.

Northwestern was able to end the day's second game early thanks to a 10-run rule after eight innings in what finished as a 12-0 victory for the Eagles. Freshman Erik Nyquist (Elk River, Minn./Pine Island) continued to shine on the hill, working all eight frames to become the UMAC's sole wins leader with a 5-0 season record and a 2.61 ERA. Following a 7-0 win over the Rams last Wednesday, today's game was the second time in a week that Nyquist held North Central to two hits and no runs.

Already leading 2-0 after two innings, a big six-run sixth frame by Northwestern was what put the game out of reach. UNW batted 11 players that inning, using five hits combined with six North Central errors to boost the lead to 8-0.

While Northwestern put up 16 hits, NCU's defensive blunders didn't help the Rams, who committed five errors in the game.

Brock Peterson (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) paced the Eagles with a 3-for-5 performance when holding a bat in his hands. The freshman had two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Both Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) and Taylor McMurray (Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace) also went 2-for-4.

Now 11-11 overall and 5-4 in league play, Northwestern returns home to prepare for a Friday-Saturday series against the Vikings from Bethany Lutheran, who are tied atop the UMAC standings with the College of St. Scholastica at 6-1. UNW senior Connor Olson (Mahtomedi, Minn/Mahtomedi) will most likely get the ball to pitch Friday's 3 p.m. game at Reynolds Field, which will be followed by a Saturday twin bill that starts at 12 noon.