St. Paul, Minn –– The University of Northwestern baseball team (21-8, 9-1 UMAC) bumped up its win streak to six games and 14 of 15, with a sweep of North Central University (2-9, 1-6 UMAC). The Eagles won game one 18-2 and game two 10-8.

Game One

Northwestern jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) started his day with a double high off the wall in left, and he boosted his conference batting average to .525 at the conclusion of both contests. Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) drew a walk, and the two of them executed a perfectly timed double steal without a throw. The Eagles have now collectively stolen 81 bases, which places them in the top ten of DIII for thefts. After Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) reached on an error that brought home Crabb, Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) drew a four-pitch walk. This wasn't any old walk, though, as he set the career school walks record with 93. Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) brought home Vercoe and Severson with a two-run single to left field to close out the scoring in the inning.

The offense exploded in the bottom of the third. Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) jumped on a 3-0 fastball and sent it deep into the forest behind the left-center field fence. His home run gave him nine on the year, which moves him into second all-time in a single season. Severson and Morrell both drew walks, and Skrede hit his second run-scoring hit, this time a two-run double to left-center. Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton), Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge), Vercoe, Severson, and Morrell also drove in runs in the frame as Northwestern put up a ten-spot.

North Central followed with two runs in the fourth, but the Eagles immediately got one of them back. Cal Johnson (Lino Lakes, Minn./Concordia Academy) smacked a sharp lead-off double down the left-field line, and he came around to score on Bryce Crabb's (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) single up the middle to make it 14-2 after four. Northwestern added three more in the fifth as Morrell led off with a first-pitch single. Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) doubled him to third, and Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) drove in Morrell with a single. Crabb followed with a single to bring in Johnson to bring his average on the week to .630 (17/27). In the bottom of the sixth, Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) drove in his sixth run of the game with an RBI single that plated Ben Spores (Arlington, Wa./Arlington). 

Northwestern finished with 20 hits, and every starter had at least one hit. Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) was 4-5 with 6 RBIs. Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) and Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) both drove in three runs and had three RBIs. Philip Wall (Juneau, Alaska/IDEA) got the start on the mound, and he threw five dominant innings. He surrendered one earned run and struck out three. Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) pitched the final two innings and recorded three of his six outs via the punch-out.

Game Two

North Central's offense got going early in game two, as they hit two-run home runs in both the first and second innings. In between the two blasts, though, Northwestern got one run back. Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) reached on an error to start the game, and Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) drove him home with a sharp single to left to cut the lead in half. 

After the Rams extended their lead to 4-1, Northwestern got two back on Philip Wall's (Juneau, Alaska/IDEA) triple to center field. Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) hit the Eagles' second triple in as many innings in the third, and Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) tied the game with an RBI double to right field.

Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) ensured that the game didn't stay tied long as he hit a mammoth blast out to right field to lead off the fourth. Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) followed with a home run of his own as the ball was flying out of the ballpark as the temperature rose during game two. Northwestern loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch in the fifth, and Philip Wall (Juneau, Alaska/IDEA) made them pay with a two-run single to make it 8-4.

In the sixth, the Eagles added two more on Ben Spores' (Arlington, Wa./Arlington) two-run double high off the wall in left-center field to take a six-run lead. North Central clawed back in the top of the eighth thanks to its third two-run home run. They added two more in the ninth and had the tying run on first, but Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) worked his way out of the jam.

Simonson, Crabb, Vercoe, and Wall all had two hits. Sam Ludzack (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) improved to 4-1 with six stellar innings where he scattered three hits and three earned runs. Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) pitched the final three innings and struck out four.

Up Next

Northwestern hosts Bethany Lutheran College on Wednesday, April 28th in one of the season's most anticipated matchups. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 4:00 pm in the battle between two of the top teams in the UMAC.

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