DULUTH, Minn. – After eliminating the University of Wisconsin-Superior earlier in the day, 7-0, the University of Northwestern baseball team came up short against the College of St. Scholastica, 10-3, in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament Championship Friday evening at Wade Stadium. The Eagles end their season 24-18, while CSS wins its 19th straight tournament title.
Game One
Erik Nyquist (Elk River, Minn./Pine Island) threw a six-hit shutout, as the Eagles defeated UWS, 7-0, to advance to the conference championship game.
UNW scored two runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings before plating a run in the seventh to account for its seven runs.
Senior shortstop
Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) provided the hot bat, finishing 3-for-3 at the dish. Morrell gave UNW a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth when he laced an RBI single to score
Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South).
Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka ),
Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and
Braxton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) all tallied two hits apiece at the plate. Osborn also drove in a pair of runs.
Nyquist was lights out, surrendering just six hits en route to notching his fourth win of the season on the bump.
Game Two
The Saints jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first two innings of play, but UNW answered with a three-run third to even the score at 3-3.
Tyler Osborn (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) drove in the Eagles' first run via an RBI single to right.
John Hietpas (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) then followed with a two-run single to generate UNW's three runs.
The Eagles threatened in the sixth, loading the bases, but were unable to push any runs across.
John Hietpas (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) delivered two hits in his final game in a UNW uniform, while freshman
Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) also recorded a pair of hits.
Jacob Franzen (Shoreview, Minn./Homeschool) suffered the loss, throwing the first 5.1 innings for the Eagles. He allowed four runs on seven hits.
The Eagles will say goodbye to seven seniors (
Benjamin Jenney (Albertville, Minn./Maranatha Christian),
Aaron Rau (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge),
Tucker Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool),
Cameron Mingo (Nassau, Bahamas/Kingsway Academy),
John Hietpas (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge),
Troy Nelson (Buena Park, Calif. /Buena Park) and
Brady Arneson (Fosston, Minn./Fosston)), who helped UNW reach the 20-win plateau for the eighth time under the watch of head coach
Dave Hieb.
Fans can stay up-to-date will of the latest baseball news by visiting
www.unweagles.com.
