DULUTH, Minn. – Erik Nyquist (Elk River, Minn./Pine Island)'s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth propelled the University of Northwestern baseball team (24-16) to a thrilling 5-4 win over the University of Wisconsin-Superior Thursday morning in the opening game of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament at Wade Stadium. The Eagles then advanced to the winners bracket to take on the College of St. Scholastica in the nightcap. The Saints prevailed in the contest, 6-3.

Northwestern – the No. 2 seed in the tournament – will now take on third-seeded UWS (16-18) in an elimination game Friday at 1 p.m. The winner of that contest will take on CSS at 4 p.m. Friday.

Game One
Trailing 4-3 with two outs and no runners on in the bottom of the ninth, UNW strung together back-to-back-to-back hits to push two runs across to secure the walk-off win.

John Hietpas (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) got things started after he was hit by a pitch. Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) followed with a ground-rule double and Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) then provided a run-scoring single to even the score at 4-4. The next batter, Erik Nyquist (Elk River, Minn./Pine Island), delivered the game-winning RBI single to give the Eagles the victory.

Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka )'s RBI knock gave UNW its first run in the bottom of the first. Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) scored on a passed ball in the fourth and John Hietpas (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) pushed an RBI base hit through the right side to generate UNW's first three runs.

Hietpas tallied three hits, while Sutterer continued to stay hot at the plate, finishing 3-for-5. Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) both notched a pair of hits at the dish.

Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) gave the pitching staff a boost, as the senior went the distance to save some arms in the pen. He allowed just four earned runs, while striking out a pair and not issuing a walk.

Game Two
Scholastica scored a combined four runs in the first two innings and the Eagles weren't able to overcome the early deficit, falling 6-3.

Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) scored Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) with an RBI base hit in the fourth inning and Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka ) drilled a two-run home run in the sixth for UNW's three runs. The round-tripper marked the fifth dinger of the season and team-leading 39th RBI for the junior.

Osborn finished 2-for-4 at the plate to pace the offense. With his performance Thursday, Sutterer's batting average crept above .400, as he now sits at .401 on the year.

Seniors Benjamin Jenney (Albertville, Minn./Maranatha Christian) and Troy Nelson (Buena Park, Calif. /Buena Park) pitched four innings each on the bump. Jenney (6-1), who started the game, was tagged with his first of the season on the hill.

A full recap following tomorrow's action will be available at www.unweagles.com.