ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern baseball team battled the University of St. Thomas (2-0) Wednesday in a pair of losses on a blustery March evening at Reynolds Field. The Eagles dropped a heartbreaker, 2-1, in game one, before falling 9-3 in the nightcap. Northwestern's season record now sits at 4-9.

Game One
UNW couldn't have asked for a better outing from senior pitcher Troy Nelson (Buena Park, Calif. /Buena Park) in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader, as he tossed a two-hit shutout through the first six innings.

With the game gridlocked at 0-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) led off the frame with a double off the left field fence. Osborn then moved up 90 feet on a beautifully placed Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) sacrifice bunt. Brett Reinhart (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) followed that with a RBI groundout to score Osborn and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Riding Nelson's gem on the bump, UNW headed to the seventh and final frame. Nelson issued a one-out walk and Dan Ziemann followed with a two-run blast over the right-center fence to put the Tommies up 2-1. UNW loaded the bases in the home half of the inning, but couldn't muster a run, falling 2-1.

Osborn and Reinhart paced the Eagles at the plate, as both delivered a pair of hits. Nelson surrendered just three hits in 6.1 innings of work.

Game Two
UST carried its momentum from game one to the first inning of game two, putting a four spot on the board to jump out to an early lead.

The Eagles chipped away at the deficit, cutting the lead in half in the bottom of the third, as Reinhart tripled to left center, scoring Osborn and Brady Arneson (Fosston, Minn./Fosston). Reinhart finished the contest with two hits for his second multi-hit game of the day.

UNW's third run came on a Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) infield single with the bases loaded. Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) got the nod on the hill, working the first 5.1 innings. Jake Franzen had a strong outing out of the pen, giving up just one hit and no runs in 1.2 innings of relief action.

The Eagles will remain at home to host Gustavus Adolphus next Tuesday at Reynolds Field in a doubleheader. Game one is slated to get underway at 5 p.m. Fans can find more information at www.unweagles.com.