St. Paul, Minn. –– The University of Northwestern baseball team (12-7) swept Minnesota Morris (2-8) in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday evening. Northwestern won game one 9-5 and game two 15-1 (F/7).

Game One
Northwestern got off to a hot start as Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) led off the bottom of the first with a double to left and scored on Sam Peterson's (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) single. Peterson came around to score on Bryce Crabb's (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) ground out to make it 2-0. In the third, Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) reached via an error to open up the frame. Peterson hit a two-run home run to make it 4-0. Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) followed with a single to right-center, stole second, advanced to third on Bryce Crabb's (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) double to left, and scored on Aaron Severson's (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) sacrifice fly.

Morris added two runs in the fourth and a third in the fifth to make it 5-3. In the bottom of the fifth, Vercoe singled up the middle and advanced to third on a stolen base and Crabb's single to left. Crabb stole the Eagles' fourth base of the afternoon, and Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) scored him with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 6-3. In the sixth, Morris cut the lead to two, and then Northwestern added on in the bottom of the seventh. Vercoe recorded his third single and his third stolen base of game one. Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) brought home Vercoe with a single before Morrell singled home Severson to make it 8-4. 

In the eighth, Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) led off with a double to left-center. Szafraniec brought home Skrede with a single back up the middle to give Northwestern a five-run lead before Morris added a fifth run in the top of the ninth.

Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) got the start on the mound and struck out five batters in four innings of work. Nicholas Drinken (Randolph, Minn. /Randolph) pitched the fifth and sixth innings, and Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) recorded his second save as he struck out three in three innings. Peterson and Vercoe both recorded three hits as Northwestern had 13 hits in the game.

Game Two

In the bottom of the first, Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) and Vercoe continued off right where they started in game one with back-to-back singles. Severson walked to load the bases, and Morrell hit a run-scoring single to make it 1-0. Morris tied it in the second, but Northwestern took the lead for good in the third.

Peterson singled to third with one-out, and Vercoe hit a home run to make it 3-1. Morrell and Skrede hit singles, and Boerema drove home both runners with a triple to left-center. Eric Peterson (Coon Valley, Wis./Westby) then made it 6-1 with an infield single. The Eagles added on in the fourth as Vercoe drove home Simonson with a single to right field. Skrede brought Vercoe across the dish with a double down the left-field line to make it 8-1.

Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) hit his second home run of the day with a two-out two-run shot which brought home Simonson. The offense exploded in the sixth, as Boerema, Peterson, and Spores all had run-scoring hits as the first six Eagles all reached base. 

Morrell reached safely four times in the contest, and Peterson, Vercoe, and Skrede all three times. Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) got the start on the mound and threw five dominant innings. Morrell and Max Barthel (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) each pitched an inning. It was an eventful day for the Morrell family as Wyatt reached five times and his younger brother Stewart improved to 13-0 in singles play on the tennis court.

Up Next

The Eagles will travel to Superior, Wisconsin to compete against the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday, April 14th. First pitch of game one in the opening of UMAC play for the Eagles is scheduled for 1:30 pm.

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