ST. PAUL – A six-run sixth inning in game two earned the University of Northwestern baseball team a critical split with Bethany Lutheran College Thursday night at Reynolds Field. The Eagles move to 14-16 overall on the year and 4-2 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play, while BLC is now 13-14 and 5-3 in conference action. The Vikings won game one, 5-2, before the Eagles grabbed the nightcap, 8-4.
Game One
Bethany scored in the first two innings and final two innings en route to picking up a 5-2 win.
Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka ) drove in both of UNW's runs, as the senior plated
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau) with his RBI groundout in the sixth before delivering a sacrifice fly in the ninth to score Krahn. In addition to scoring a pair of runs, Krahn smashed two doubles.
Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) collected the Eagles' third hit with his base knock in the seventh.
Micah Williams (Gulfport, Miss. /Christian Collegiate Academy) was tagged with the loss after surrendering three earned runs on seven hits in eight innings of work. The freshman left-hander fanned five.
Nick Pilz (Stacy, Minn./North Branch) came on to throw the ninth.
BLC's Brandyn Olsen threw a complete-game, striking out 10, while also hitting a homerun in the game.
Game Two
Trailing 3-1 heading into the sixth inning, the UNW offense exploded with six runs to give the Eagles a 7-3 advantage. Northwestern tacked on an insurance run in the eighth and
Ryan Sutterer (Anoka, Minn./Anoka ) came in to pitch the final two innings to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Brett Reinhart (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian),
Carter Michaelson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) and
Christian Halbur (Richfield, Minn./Homeschool) all delivered multi-hit games for UNW, while Reinhart also scored two runs.
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau) smacked his third double of the day, as he finished 1-for-5 with a run scored.
Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) was the winning pitching, as the junior allowed four earned runs in seven innings on the bump. The right-hander fanned four, while giving up nine hits.
The Eagles will travel to Northland College for a doubleheader Saturday. First pitch in Ashland, Wis., is slated for 1:30 p.m. Fans can find more on the baseball program at
www.unweagles.com.