St. Paul, Minn. –– The University of Northwestern baseball team (10-7) swept Martin Luther College (0-2) on Thursday evening. The Eagles won game one 10-0 and game two 19-0.

Game One
Northwestern was clicking on all cylinders for the doubleheader. It all started with the pitching as Sam Ludzack (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) (3-0) got the start in game one. The junior threw five dominant innings while striking out ten and only surrendering one hit, a double in the second. 

The Eagles gave Ludzack all the run support that he needed in the bottom of the first. Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) was hit by a pitch and stole second, foreshadowing the rest of the evening. Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) followed with a single to center, which brought home Peterson. Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) continued his red-hot start to his freshman season with a double to left to bring home the second Eagle run of the inning.

Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) hit a triple to center, in the second, and he scored on Andrew Simonson's (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) first of two two-run home runs. This one was crushed to right-center to make it 4-0. After Ludzack struck out the side in the top of the third, the Eagles added three more to their tally. Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) led off with a walk and stole second. Severson singled him to third, and the two of them executed a double steal to perfection to score Crabb. Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) got in on the action with a single to center before he eventually stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Severson scored on Eric Peterson's (Coon Valley, Wis./Westby) RBI ground out, and Morrell scored on Szafraniec's single back up the middle to make it 7-0.

Northwestern kept adding on in the fourth as a pitch hit Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte). He followed with the Eagles' seventh steal and scored on Bryce Crabb's (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) infield single. In the sixth, Crabb drove home Parker Seachrist (Effingham, Ill./Effingham), who had drawn a lead-off walk, and Morrell drove home Vercoe with a single to make it 10-0.

Max Barthel (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) followed Ludzack on the mound, and he recorded the final six outs. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Northwestern had 12 hits, as Vercoe, Crabb, Severson, Morrell, and Szafraniec had two-hit days. The Eagles stole eight bags in the contest.

Game Two

Noah Franzen (Shoreview, Minn./Homeschool) (1-0), a junior who has battled injuries the past couple of years, got the start in game two. It was Franzen's first appearance on a varsity collegiate mound, and he did not disappoint. He matched Ludzack's performance in game one as he threw five innings and struck out seven. His fastball and curveball kept Martin Luther hitless until two outs in the fourth.

Northwestern took the lead in the second, as a pitch hit Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) to lead off the inning. Philip Wall (Juneau, Alaska/IDEA) scored him on a double to right-center to make it 1-0, which was all the offensive support that Franzen needed. In the third, Ben Spores (Arlington, Wa./Arlington) reached via an error to open up the frame. Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) followed with his second two-run home run of the day, this one deep to left-center. Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) singled up the middle and manufactured a run all by himself, as he stole second, third, and then scored via a balk to make it 4-0.

The wheels fell off for the Knights in the fourth. Eleven consecutive Eagles reached base with one out to put up eleven runs in the inning. Some of the innings highlights were Carlton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) and Spores hitting back-to-back triples, Vercoe hitting a two-run double, and Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) and Ben Spores (Arlington, Wa./Arlington) both having two-run singles. 

Northwestern added two more runs in the fifth, with no hits in the inning, as they drew four walks and Owen Atherton (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) was hit by a pitch. The Eagles added two more in the sixth on Brayden Bryson's (New Orleans, La./De La Salle) RBI, which brought home Brandon Welch (Rogers, Minn./Rogers), who had reached on a single. Atherton also had an RBI single to score Brett Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua).

23 Eagles played in game two as UNW had 17 hits and drew another seven walks while limiting the Knights to one hit and two walks. Simonson, Vercoe, Boerema, Lindow, and Spores all had two-hit days. Every starter reached base at least once, and the Eagles stole another five bags to bring their total to 13 on the day.

After Franzen's five dominant innings, Wakabayashi got the sixth and struck out one, and Bennett Thurow (Burnsville, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh.

Up Next

The Eagles have some time off before their next game. They play a doubleheader against Gustavus Adolphus College on Wednesday, April 7th at Reynolds Field. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5:00 pm. After that non-conference doubleheader, Northwestern opens its conference schedule against the Knights at home on Saturday, April 10th.

Follow Northwestern baseball online at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter @unwbaseball.