ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern Eagles (14-15, 9-3) continued their winning streak by sweeping the Martin Luther College Knights (2-14, 0-8) on Sunday at Reynolds Field. The Eagles won Game one 16-4 in 8 innings and Game two 20-9.
Game One
The Eagles offense exploded early as they scored one run in the first, thanks to an
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau) sacrifice fly and then added four more in the second.
Caleb Piersma (Pella, Iowa/Pella) produced a sac-fly of his own and then
Carter Michaelson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) cleared the bases with a double off the center field fence.
Martin Luther scored once in the bottom of the third and then two more in the bottom of the fifth, but the Eagles added four runs as the visiting team. The game was supposed to be played at Martin Luther, but was moved to Northwestern due to MLC's field conditions. In the sixth,
Philip Wall (Juneau, AK./IDEA) had the big hit with a two-RBI pinch hit single.
In the seventh,
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau) crushed a home run to left field to score
Caleb Piersma (Pella, Iowa/Pella). In the eighth, Piersma scored
Daren Halvorson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) with an RBI single and then Krahn hit his second home run in as many innings.
Andrew Simonson (Lakeland, Minn./Eastridge) pitched seven strong innings as he gave up eight hits and only three earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts.
Quinton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) closed the door in the eighth inning as he struck out two Martin Luther batters.
The Eagles had seventeen hits in the first game with eight of them being extra base hits.
Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) reached five times,
Carter Michaelson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) and
Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) three times, and
Caleb Piersma (Pella, Iowa/Pella),
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau),
Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin), and
Carlton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) all reached twice.
Game Two
The offense continued to roll in game two as the Eagles put up a three spot in the first inning thanks to
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau)'s third home run in three at-bats.
Carlton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) added a homer of his own in the third inning to extend the lead to 5-0.
In the fourth inning the Eagles added three more runs with a key contribution a
Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) single. Martin Luther added four runs in the bottom of the fourth but UNW scored three times in the top of the fifth thanks to a Krahn sacrifice fly and a Michaelson double to right field.
Martin Luther responded with three more in the bottom of the fifth to keep it close, but Northwestern took a commanding lead in the seventh. Morrell led the inning off with a solo homer, Krahn doubled home
Caleb Piersma (Pella, Iowa/Pella) before
Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) singled home Krahn.
In the eighth, Morrell doubled home
Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) and
Kyle Livingood (Shoreview, Minn./Luther College ) and then Piersma singled home Morrell. The inning culminated with a
Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) double that scored Piersma. In the ninth, Morrell added his second homer on the day.
Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) got the start for the Eagles and he was followed by Michaelson,
Henry Waage (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria), and
Chad Wakabayashi (Waipahu,HI/Hanalani).
Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) reached base five more times in game two,
Caleb Piersma (Pella, Iowa/Pella),
Aaron Krahn (Roseau, Minn./Roseau), and
Nathan Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) all reached four times, and
Kyle Livingood (Shoreview, Minn./Luther College ) and
Bradley Spencer (Papillion, NE/Papillion South) reached three times.
The Eagles next play at Reynolds Field vs. Minnesota Morris on Tuesday, May 1 with first pitch scheduled for 4 pm.
